The Second Soul
by Teekoness
Summary: A body cursed with having two souls: Goku and Kakarot. Kakarot came first and hitting his head Goku is born. Now it is his turn once again and Goku's friends and family better watch out.... Danger has a familiar face. COMPLETE, old fic
1. Prologue: A Slip Up

The stars twinkled in the cold darkness that was space. Each was glittering, bright, glowing. It wasn't something that one could replicate by shinnying a light through the holes in a black piece of paper. Every single one of these stars was its own light like a spirit with its own freedom.

Except one spirit, one star in its own right was trapped, and one day it would break free.

Sadly, captivity does strange things to stars… and spirits, changing them in ways we can only begin to imagine.

A ship glided aimlessly through space only holding six passengers. They were each enjoying their trip each in their own way, whether to train, socialise or explore. Not a single one could anticipate how a nice friendly out-trip could turn bad.

It was time.

* * *

4567 read the gravity machine. Four thousand five hundred and sixty-seven times Earth's normal gravity, enough to turn a feather that was dropped a millimetre from the floor would have enough force to smash through titanium with little effort.

The air particles were jammed so close to the ground by the intense pressure making it impossible for anyone to breath without assistance and so the one person in the room, Goku, wore a special breathing mask over his mouth and nose or he would have long since suffocated. 

And somehow in this intense environment the saiyan trained.

Breathing hard as his arms shot forward in mock punches. 

Groaning when his legs were wrenched from the ground to execute kicks.

Sweat pouring and pouring down at the speed of bullets with every movement of his body. Each muscle ached for this awful torture to end just for a second of rest.

Goku strided towards the gravity machine, his walk full of strength and grace. It was as if he merely shrugged off the immense force that pounded down on his body and every move. Lightly touching a few buttons and suddenly the gravity released, not completely but only to the point where it was only two thousand times normal, an incredible might still, yet a little better. His hands reached up to the mask and carefully unfastened it and gently placed it on a hook next to the controls.

The slightest gesture was a bit of poetry in the making. A true master piece from the greatest of the martial arts world. It seemed nothing could stop this amazing, yet humbling demonstration of power and self-control.

Then at the moment that seemed to be the climax of this gorgeous scene, a grumble rang through the air and the saiyan looked down at his stomach and smiled. "Snack time!" he chirped.

Of course one can speak too soon.

In a second Goku bounded over to the refrigerator that was in the corner, swung the door open and was digging through the fridge's contents. Yanking the fruit drawer open, he eagerly reached in. He had a hankering for one… two… or a dozen ripe firm bananas.

His hand wrapped around something and pulled it out. He found his banana all right but it wasn't exactly the way he had pictured it, especially in the firm part. It was a blackish mess that made a squishy noise with even the slightest movement of his hand and darker innards strongly resembled the sort of slime that a slug produces.

Curiously, he put it up to his mouths his tongue delicately touched it and he made a face.

"Ugh," said Goku making a face. Though saiyans were notorious for not being picky (even when they should be) but this was too much and he tossed what had once been a piece of fruit over his shoulder then went back to rummaging through the fridge.

To his horror every bit of edible food was had been flattened. Despite virtually everything in this room including Goku's clothes had been designed by the Briefs to withstand incredible gravity, they had neglected to remember that the food might not.

He sighed, once again looking over the carnage, and his shoulders sagged when another grumble from his hungry belly.

Then thinking for a second, he brightened. Wasn't there more food in the living quarters?

With that Goku dashed towards the door, his eyes, his step light. The only thing on his mind was chicken and ice cream and milk and chocolate and bread and virtually any sort of food except bananas (his appetite for those had mysteriously vanished).

Unfortunately he should have thought about that one piece of food in general and as he went along one of his feet landed on the mess of a banana on the floor and instead of prancing along, he pranced upside down and smashed his head against the floor.

With the force of the still incredible gravity pushing down on him and the hard floor, Goku's eyes closed and drifted into unconsciousness.


	2. Ch. 1: Big Bang

In the other training room, Vegeta and Gohan faced each other, both tingiling with energy that was begging to be used. Their gazes met, the prince's veruses the halfling's.

Suddenly, their eyes turned from dark-brown to stunning blue-green, the hair spiking above their heads like crowns. Powers skyrocketed and went to heights that seemed impossible but they were! Finally, a quiet tension filled the air as the powers steadied and the world seemed poised at that one for someone to make a move.

In second everything changed and in a flash of golden aura, they charged.

It was a fury of punches and kicks as the two saiyan warriors clashed. Vegeta aimed a punch a Gohan's face, who grabbed the fist and holding it in place landed a kick in his opponent's stomach. The Prince of Saiyans grunted for half a second and then jumping back into a fighting stance made a smirk and faded out.

The half-breed looked left and right looking around in vain to find the other man; he finally found his target but by the time he had it was too late. Vegeta appeared, dropping onto his hand and using one of his legs to sweep Gohan off his feet.

Before the young man could recover Vegeta had kneed him in the back and grabbed him slamming him back into the floor and the halfling cried out in pain.

The older saiyan started began to pick him up again.

"No… you don't!" muttered Gohan and in matter of milliseconds he twisted grabbing the prince's shoulders and threw him so he was flipped onto the floor beside the half-breed.

The two lay there for a moment breathing hard and then calmly got up faced each other once more. It seemed odd that in all that intense fighting that they could relax for that brief instant without worrying.

There was no hesitation this time when it came to starting up again and was again they launched themselves into the close calls, aches and pains that was the battle men of all kinds love so much.

After one particularly painful exchange, Vegeta decided it was time to end this spar and he gathered the ki for a Gallit Gun.

"Yahh!" yelled as he let loose a giant blast of purple energy.

Gohan was ready and he reached out with his hands and cried "Ma…….. sen….. ko…. HA!" and his own blast of yellow ki met Vegeta's.

The two blasts pushed and wrenched at each other but neither moved an inch and the two saiyans groaned as they desperately exerted their energy trying to last until the other tired out. The atmosphere became hot and thick as more and more power filled the room and when it seemed that this could go on for quite a while. 

Suddenly a huge tremor shook the ship knocking the two warriors to the ground and their now-unstable ki blasts away from their targets and ricketing off the walls. Instead of dodging each other they found themselves dodging their own blasts.

The room's door flung open.

"Hey guys," said Krillin as he entered the room. "Was that you two?"

Vegeta crossed his arms and looked away annoyed that the sparring match had been cut short and Gohan turned to look at the human.

"No, it wasn't us," said Gohan and taking a moment to think. What could cause something like that to happen? Unfortunately the answer came all two soon and was definetly not one he liked. "Goten… Trunks… If those two have wrecked something…" He let the threat hang, then relaxed and slowly his hair and eye colour dropped back into normal, and in a moment Vegeta followed suit. 

The chance of them successfully wrecking something was actually incredibly slim. He remembered Bulma giving them a briefing on the ship. She had said the ship was state of the art, made with many of the strongest materials ever known, almost impossible to scratch let alone break.

Still, the three of them walked out of the room not quite as calmly as they would have liked and into the living quarters. Sure enough the terrible two had been up to no good. 

The residential room had been designed with plenty of things to do, including movies, games, books, food (so far the most popular thing in the area) and toys. Thankfully the food was still packed in the ten refrigerators but other then that EVERYTHING had somehow been tossed on the floor.

One could think it miraculous that not a single thing that had been thrown around had fallen on a shelf every once in a while.

In the middle of this was Goten and Trunks lying on Gohan and Krillin's spare gi's while watching some a cartoon show about incredibly strong fighters on the television in the corner. Every once in a few giggles escaped the young boys.

"Hey Goten," Trunks said pointing to the screen when it showed two of the characters doing 'supposed' martial arts, "that guy has absolutely no form."

The other boy agreed and laughed "Yeah, ours would never be _that_ bad."

"From here it looks pretty bad."

For second Goten and Trunks looked at each other, expecting it to have been the other who had spoken, then their eyes drifted behind them to see a very peeved looking Gohan, Vegeta and Krillin.

"Uhhh, hi brother, Krillin, Mr. Vegeta," Goten babbled and the two of them rushed to their feet. "We can explain you see, we uh…. I think Trunks can tell you just what you want to know." 

With that a rather reluctant Trunks was pushed in front of his best friend. "Hiya Tousan and of course Gohan and Trillin… I mean Pillin… sorry oops Krillin, you see we were…"

"Okay brats," growled Vegeta obviously having enough of the boys' excuses, "what was that big bang that shook the ship? Did you wreck the engine or something?"

The young half-breeds let loose a sigh of relief that could've been heard from there to New Namek.

"That wasn't us," Trunks said honestly.

"It wasn't?" Krillin asked suspicion thick in his tone. He could only hope Marron wasn't going to be like this when she got older.

"Really," said Goten. They had to believe them! "We're telling the truth, we felt the shake but it wasn't us we were just watching cartoons the whole time.

__

As well as making a mess of the living quarters, seemed to be the simultaneous thought of all the adults.

"Maybe it's Tousan," Gohan suggested. "He always goes overboard when training."

"Well, I am sure whatever it is it's okay," Krillin said. "Bulma built this ship strong enough to withstand all of us, right? If we can't damage it, well what can?"

Gohan walked over to a control panel to check the systems. "Yeah, the ship is fine. It's probably just Otousan like I thought."

"If everything's okay I think me and Trunks will go and do some training in the weight room," Goten said. Maybe he could get out of here before he got in trouble for something he _did_ do.

"By the way," Gohan said as he sat down on one of the less tattered chairs with a book in hand. 

His younger brother froze halfway out the door.

"No more desert for the rest of the trip." Goten gulped, grabbed his friend by the arm and ran off.

Another bang came shaking through the ship and for a moment they were almost knocked off their feet.

"It must be Kakarot," Vegeta stated as he and the others regained their balance.

"Goku," Krillin corrected. What was the point of calling Goku a name from a life that didn't belong with him?

Under some circumstances, the Prince of Saiyans might have rebuked the human for talking to him in such a way but he declined this time. It never worked anyway since he moved to Earth besides his mind was other places.

But little did the other inhabitants of the ship know that Vegeta was right. It was Kakarot.


	3. Ch. 2: Danger Awakes

Goku lay in the room unconscious, completely oblivious to the events in the other rooms of the craft. It seemed almost as if he were at peace just calmly enjoying a nap but behind his eyelids his eyes rapidly moved as if being disturbed by some unseen tormentor.

Suddenly he clenched himself and curled up in a little ball on the floor, his breathing erratic and forced.

"No… NO!…" he murmured. 

Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong and it seemed as if there was no way he could stop it but he had to. He couldn't let this force be freed. He could not allow it out.

Then the saiyan relaxed his arms, letting falling down at his sides and legs lying straight out on the floor. His eyes flickered open and for a moment there he just stared up at the ceiling his gaze blank. After assessing where he was a smile slowly formed on his face.

Using his hands, he pushed himself into a sitting position revelling in the feel as his muscles stretched and contracted at _his _will, not at some softhearted fool's. To be able to do something that simple seemed like he had gone from being the darkest reaches of hell into the greatest part of heaven.

The saiyan felt his one of _his _hands ache and he looked at it; maybe it had been hurt in the fall.

After looking at it for several seconds more, he smashed it into the hard floor feeling the pain he inflicted.

How glorious it was and rewarding to be able to do this by choice!

He wanted more of such experiences; he _needed_ to claim what was his by birthright. Every fibre in his body wanted to be taken to new heights and new joys, for now after so long he would feel true life again!

"Finally," he said in a whisper that seemed to echo, "I am free again."

It seemed so long ago that he had been sent to Earth by his father in the hopes to keep him safe from Freeza. The stupid git hadn't thought of saving his own skin and instead got all sentimental and gave up the chance of getting away before Vegeta-sei was blown up.

__

He truly cared about me, he thought, remembering talking with his father, _that silly fool cared about me. All the better for me._

Still, there had been a price to pay for salvation. When he first arrived he had met that earthling Gohan who had made everything difficult. The one who Goku had had the nerve to name _his _son after. Not Goku's, _his. _It all belonged to him not that baka. Either way who would have thought there would have been a human who actually been a match for him? 

The man had tried to take him in and would not let him go.

Then one day when Gohan had been trying to take him for a walk, he had almost escaped but then when that human had chased him he had tripped and plunged into a ravine hitting his head. That day Goku was born.

Goku had sickened him. By the time he had recovered enough to know what was going on, he found this loving, caring fool of a gaki controlling his body, completely oblivious to the saiyan screaming in the back of his mind.

He hoped the roles were reversed now. Oh, how sweet it would be if that baka was now watching and listening everything now, feeling his body move against his will…

"…. Hearing his mouth speak things he would never say."

That would be something to savour for the rest of his life. If he could only hear the other man now. Yelling, crying like he had for so long, but no one ever replying, no one ever comforting. He had been alone, always alone.

Shame, he couldn't hear that other man screaming. Perhaps it would make the other suffer even more.

Laughing hysterically, he lightly jumped to his feet and sighed as it happened exactly as he wanted it to. If only he could have done this more times before.

In less time than for a person's heart to beat he charged at the wall and kicked it twenty times then backflipping across the room, he twisted around delivering the wall another twenty with his fists. The entire craft shook as it took his onslaught.

A wide grin spread over his face and he looked down at himself happily. If that bumbling idiot had done something right it was how he trained the body they inhabited. The training that the baka had started with has been laughable but as time went on he had actually done _very _well.

Suddenly his face became serious, now it was time for other matters.

He walked back over to the gravity machine and tapped the button that made the controls affect the ship. As soon as the screen changed he punched in the all too simple command 'Go to Earth." True, he could use the Instant Transmission to get to the planet but he had some business with his other shipmates.

Touching another button for it to move back to gravity machine controls again and put on the breathing mask hanging nearby then pressed the keys 4-5-6-7. 

Once again the air was jammed down and the atmosphere became intense but the saiyan wasn't planing to stay and going to the door exited. 

Out there the gravity relaxed and he was able to remove the mask, fastening it to his belt, and started down the hall, then paused when he saw another set of controls on the wall. What was it that Vegeta's mate had stressed about these things?

The answer came; he smirked and pressed his hand against the controls. Yes… the ship might be indestructible but the controls weren't. With a blast of ki, the area where the screen and keys had been became a patch of burning wires.

"Don't worry universe," the saiyan whispered more to himself than anyone, "Kakarot will take care of you."

And at that moment the air seemed to shiver.


	4. Ch. 3: Hi... Tousan?

The weight room was a fairly large part of the ship, spanning an entire level and was full of equipment that had been designed by those at Capsule Corp to be the latest in technology. Using these one could get one of the most effective and thorough workouts in this side of the galaxy, and this room like almost every other one had a gravity machine in the middle of the chamber.

Currently, this marvellous set was being terribly put to waste. Goten and Trunks had trained for exactly three minutes and then getting bored had taken six small dumbbells and that had been propped up on their sides were being used as target practice.

Trunks stood about six metres from them and he pointed a finger at a weight that released a white blast of ki that knocked over his target and another weight as the first one bashed into it. 

With that the young saiyan looked over at his best friend and a grin splitting his face in half.

"That makes it ten to nine," he gloated, his eyes glinting devilishly. Goten frowned, drawing himself up he and putting his hand on his hips tried to like to look tall and forbidding like his okaasan did when she was angry. 

"No," Goten said, "that makes it nine to nine."

Trunks took one look at the seen and burst out laughing.

"But I knocked down two weights so I get two points," Trunks protested between giggles.

The other half-breed tried to look tough. "Your suppose to only hit one, so if hit more than that you lose points. The score should be eight to nine."

"Hey! YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT BEFORE!" shouted a disgruntle Trunks. 

Their eyes met with fierce looks of determination. As they stared at each other the room became as silent as a grave and soon their eyes watered longing to close. The moment dragged on and for the longest time and they were only dimly aware of anything else.

Finally Goten could bare it no longer, blinked and feeling annoyed turned away, crossing his arms.

"Did too," he muttered.

"Did not," growled Trunks.

"Did too!"

"DID NOT."

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!!!"

"**DID TOO!!!**"

For quite a while they continued like this neither giving in, until an idea occurred to Trunks. "Did too," he said.

"**DID NOT!!!**" yelled back Goten before he could think about it.

"Got you," Trunks taunted and smiling, skipped around his friend.

"That was CHEATING!!!" cried Goten.

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

Not really feeling ready for a round of 'was toos' and 'was nots' Goten launched himself at the older child and soon they were racing around the room. Weaving in and out of the exercise machines that cost a small fortune. Jumping, diving and turning from what seemed like every direction.

Trunks started circling a tall arm press in one corner of the room with the other boy hot on his heels. Seeing that this wouldn't go anywhere Goten turned around and planning to grab his friend when they met up again. Unfortunately he didn't turn fast enough and Trunks came around the machine, slammed into Goten and in one big mess they toppled into the floor sending the arm press falling towards the ground. 

"Uh oh," said Trunks and Goten at the same time, watching it fall.

Just as it almost reached the floor the boys managed to untangle themselves, get up and grab the thing. When they saw it was secure they hoisted back into a standing position and wiped sweat from their brows.

They looked at each other and smiles broke out on their faces.

"Was too," whispered Goten.

"Was not," replied Trunks. 

And with that they fell over laughing. They lay for a few minutes, letting the laughter roll over them until their bellies hurt and they were just too tired to even giggle they stopped.

A firm knock came from the door and Goten got up and answered it.

There was Goku standing in his typical orange with his black hair as spiky as ever. Oddly enough, he wore the smirk he usually reserved for fights and other circumstances such as that. It seemed out of place like it shouldn't really be there, but what did that matter?

"Hi Tousan," Goten chirped seeing the familiar face of his father.

Goku put his hand in the doorway, stepping in, and cocked his head to the left, a strange gesture that Goten had never seen before but none the less he stayed cheerful. If his otousan was acting a little weird, who was he to judge?

"Me and Trunks were playing some games and such."

His tousan entered the room slipping past his son examined the surroundings.

"Yes, Trunks… _Prince _Trunks," said Goku his gaze settling on the chamber's other occupant. Trunks couldn't help but shift uncomfortably under that look.

"Uh, Tousan, is there anything you want?" Goten asked desperately wanting to make some type of conversation. To say the least this was getting awkward.

"Oh, you'll see." Goku keeping his eyes on Vegeta's son, he took the door and slammed it shut.


	5. Ch. 4: Evil Ally

Trunks was being spooked. He was being spooked bad. For a few minutes he just was frozen there, aware that he was still sitting on the floor his muscles clenched and he felt himself trembling, though not visibly at least, he knew that his wasn't moving at all, but more inside like an icy breeze had brushed his heart. A gut feeling that something wasn't right.

In a flash Goku phased out leaving a ghost of an image, then reappearing in front of Trunks who looked up at the saiyan and bit his lip. The saiyan towered above the youth like a mountain; tall, cold, with a face made of stone.

Trunks felt himself shaking, visibly this time and teeth chattered a chrisp sound. His palms started sweating and he unconsciously was clenching the dark blue gi that his mother had made especially for him.

Immediately Trunks felt guilt well up in him. Otousan trusted Goku deeply and was the closest thing the prince had to a best friend even a brother, of course if one were to outright ask Vegeta about it he would strongly deny every bit. To Trunks, Goku was like an uncle and to treat him like a danger was outrageous. 

"Tousan?" asked Goten, once again trying to get his Goku's attention. Finally the saiyan wrenched his eyes away from Trunks and turned towards his youngest giving him a friendly smile.

He wasn't acting quite as odd now, and the two half-breeds simultaneously sighed, letting out the nervousness out through his body and out into the air. Still, the previous experiences had let uneasiness spread that was hard to ignore despite all their best efforts.

The boy grabbed the older saiyan's hand was lifted into a standing position.

"Thank you," Trunks managed and looked up into his helper's face whose eyes seemed glued to him. Strangely the man didn't let go of his hand and the look in his eyes seemed to slowly creep in through the lids, but what could he say? 

The aura of light heartiness, and laughter had faded from the training room replaced by quiet as if you had been playing hard rock on tape player's maximum volume for twenty-four hours and then suddenly pulled the plug. An eerie sensation that wouldn't just disappear into nothingness that seemed to consume all else.

"So what do you want?" asked Goten but Goku didn't acknowledge him in the least and at the second the grip on Trunk's hand tightened making the boy's hand start to ache as the pressure gradually increased as the seconds passed. Eventually the young Briefs found himself searching for some way to get out of there, to at least free himself from this man's grip, but finally the ache became red hot pain.

He whimpered.

"Tousan!!!!?" Goten shouted, but Goku seemed to be in a world of his own. "Your hurting him, Tousan! Your hurting Trunks!"

Still getting no answer he gathering his energy to turn Super Saiyan, but Goku was ready and in a split second he rushed at his son giving him a sharp blow to the neck. Goten clasped in a heap, twitching.

Trunks stood there paralysed, his breathing halted while he looked on with horror. 

This could not be happening. 

Could not. 

Impossible. 

Something like this didn't happen. 

Nice people don't suddenly turn mean. Nice people were… nice.

Imposter? Yeah, that had to be. Goku would never do this, so this was a faker, someone whom looked like him, wore the same clothes, had the same voice. It was a good guess as any but none the less, so many similarities.

The shock filled his bones and through his slugish brain part of him was dimly processing what going on. There was Goku standing over fallen mass of his child, face calm now, grim even with a determination that sent chills down Trunks' spine. The saiyan's hand raised over the boy was alive with electricity, and every so slowly Goku reached down, preparing to touch the boy.

"Wereti das Freoil Geadu req juy Zereuf otjin met Oozaru Saiyan," came from his lips. It was a harsh sounding yet with a traditional ring to it, like how one might make a prayer but that wouldn't change the desperateness of the situation.

When Goku's hand came centimetres from Goten's chest, Trunks finally snapped out of it and moved, not at the saiyan but instead he pivoted on the balls of his feet turning towards the arm press behind him, knocking it over and with a crash it gave him the distraction he needed. 

While Goku looked to see what the cause of the noise was, Trunks scooped up Goten and through the corner of his eye he spotted his friend's father starting to realise what had happened, but by then he had already opened the door and was already on his way out.

Zooming down the hall trying to find some help whether Otousan, Gohan, or Krillin as well as cursing Kaasan for making the ship so big, he heard Goten groan and slowly regain consciousness eventually forcing his eyes to focus on his saviour.

"What…. what happened?" he said weakly.

Trunks wearily though with a bitterness. Your otousan tried to kill you. What kind of answer was that?

"I don't know, Goten… I just don't know."

* * *

In the weight room, Kakarot looked at the door with little worry. 

Perhaps he didn't succeed in grabbing little _Prince _Trunks and dealing with his own son, but this place was only so big and he would find. Besides he could have a little fun with a game of cat and mouse and when his business was done he would have other things to entertain him.

Still, he had things to do here and strolled over to the gravity machine in the middle of the room. Like the one in the other training room, it duelled as a set of ship controls.

For variety's sake he didn't blast this one, instead he merely gave it one swift punch, revelling as his hand broke plastic and metal with ease like a knife cut butter, most likely even easier. 

Really, that Bulma was a true idiot. What sort of woman creates an almost completely indestructible space ship but makes the controls breakable? Oh well, it was her loss, as well as her family and friends', and _his_ gain.

He smirked and left the room.


	6. Ch. 5: Details... details...

In his mind's eye the reader saw a beautiful day. The sun painting the landscape golden with its thick brush making the river's blue-green depths so see-through that one could see the silvery fish below, dancing joyfully through the water. From the green trees on the banks came the musical song of a single bird, a sort of laughter echoing through the air.

On the river itself was a log raft lazily drifting along with its two occupants lying on their backs, taking naps in the mid-day heat. A boy called Tom whom even in his sleep seemed to radiate an aura of mischief, and his companion a black ex-slave named Jim whose hopes of true freedom were coming closer by the day.

In distance the reader was aware of three kis, two of them about the same strength while the third was much stronger. The third power flared and one of other two became dangerously low, while its companion's ki trembled not doing anything and the strongest power approached the weakened one.

"Goten?"

Son Gohan let out a shout and sat up. He had been sprawled over the a comfy chair in the recreation room and lying on his chest was _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, _a book that he had been enjoying until he had dozed off.

He looked around the chamber. His part of the area was lit by a tall lamp giving just enough light to make out the shapes of Krillin and Vegeta standing next to the door. Looking at their faces, in an instant Gohan knew something was wrong. Vegeta eyes were with his hand on the door, his face full of concentration, while Krillin was biting his lip until it seemed it should be drawing blood at any moment.

With some regret, Gohan put his book onto a small table beside his chair and stretched out with his mind to see if he could sense the kis he had been feeling in his dream. There were two of them. One was in the weight room, another was coming this way, but where was the third one?

Suddenly he felt a incredibly low power level. The owner of the second ki seemed to be carrying the other one and considering that the weakest ki was fluctuating is showed that it was probably hurt.

"Do you what's going on here?" Gohan asked and standing up, he walked over to where the others were.

At first there was no answer and the silence seemed to very prominent in the room and the demi-saiyan's voice echoed for what seemed like quite a while.

"Well?" Gohan said. Finally Vegeta acknowledged him by meeting his gaze.

"You felt that, right?" the saiyan prince said.

"Yes." That probably was the closest the saiyan prince could get to saying I don't know.

"Maybe Trunks and Goten are getting into trouble again," suggested Krillin.

Yeah, that did seem like a likely explanation: that the terrible two were just goofing off. Still…

"What about that third power?" Gohan said. "It became huge and then one of the other two dropped like crazy."

"Could that be Goku?" asked Krillin.

"No," declared Vegeta and knitting his dark eyebrows together, he shook his head, "That didn't feel like Kakarot. The power level was about same, but it had a different sense to it."

Gohan had to admit that he was right. That ki had seemed different from his otousan. More dark and murky, rather than bright and clear power that his father always emitted. It bothered him, like he had felt it before. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind and focus on the situation. It was annoying him. He knew it was there somewhere, but where? It seemed like it was itching at someplace in his mind.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in ran a Trunks with a limp Goten in his arms. The young Briefs looked from Krillin to Vegeta to Gohan to Krillin to Gohan to his father again his eyes wide and mouth hanging open not sure what words he could form. Finally he just fell onto to his knees, still holding Goten tightly.

"He's unconscious again," Trunks managed. "It seemed for a while like he was getting better…."

"Goten!" Gohan cried and ran to his little brother. He tried to take him, but young Trunks was to in shock to let go of the other boy.

Krillin walked over to the youth and put his hands on the demi-saiyan's shoulders. "Come on, let him go Trunks. Don't worry he's safe. You're both safe now."

Trunks let his grip loosen so Gohan carefully picked up Goten and took him across the room put him in the arm chair where he had been sitting earlier.

Coming back to the others, Gohan gently questioned Trunks. "What happened? Did he somehow hurt himself when you were playing?" Gohan doubted that had happened. It took a lot to hurt anyone of them especially that badly.

"No," Trunks said weakly, "he was hit hard by…."

"By who? Is there an intruder?"

To this there was a long silence and Trunks was biting his lip so hard that he it was a miracle that it wasn't bleeding.

"Speak up, brat," demanded Vegeta walking over to his son.

"Maybe one of us should get Goku," said Krillin.

"NO!" yelled Trunks, so forcefully that even Vegeta stepped back. He had jumped up now and was shaking all over. "Don't! You can't get him! You don't understand what's going on. If you get him… He'll… HE'LL…"

"He'll what, Trunks? This intruder will do what?" Gohan asked.

"You don't understand there isn't a…"

"Krillin! Gohan!" said Vegeta. "I am not sensing Kakarot's ki." Vegeta was right and the other ki, the murky one was gone as well.

This drew looks from everyone and poor Trunks just looked down at the floor letting his despair rolling over him. "He's suppressing it. Oh Kami, he's suppressing it. If we can't sense him, he could be anywhere on the ship."

Gohan looked at the other half-breed. The boy was breathing heavily and now his lip had a small red line of blood dripping down his chin. "Tell me what's going on," he said. They were doing the best with the information they had, but only Trunks really knew and they needed to understand the situation.

Trunks stopped biting his lip and hesitating for a moment opened his mouth. "Well me and Goten were playing in the weight room when your Tousan came in, Gohan. He acted a little odd at first, but we just thought he was fooling around, but then…" 

As the tale unfolded, Trunks grew calmer, while the others got more nervous by the second.

"Then before he was about to touch Goten with that electricity all over his hand, he said something. I don't what it meant but it sounded strange. It was probably another language or something because I only understood two words."

"What were they?" Gohan asked, inwardly trying to make sense of this entire thing. Either Trunks was lying and he had by accident hurt Goten, or his otousan had completely lost it. Could someone like Babadi been on the ship and cast some sort of a spell on his father to make him act this way? Probably Trunks was lying, yet he wasn't acting like that.

"He said 'oozaru saiyan'. Oozaru means that ape form we get in the full moon and we're saiyans, right?"

Vegeta walked up to his son and looked into the child's blue eyes as if trying to find some indication that this was all just a fib. "Trunks," he said, "Repeat everything that Kakarot said."

Trunks brow furrowed deeply and concentrated hard as he could. "He said something like 'Werit da Frel Gadu met Oozaru Saiyan' I think I messed it up a lot." 

But Vegeta wasn't listening to this. "Wereti das Freoil Geadu req juy Zereuf otjin met Oozaru Saiyan," he muttered. "How could Kakarot know about that? He said he lost his memory of being a saiyan. How could he remember that?"

"What does it mean?" questioned Gohan. The expression on Vegeta's face was bothering him immensely. The saiyan prince's expression was very thoughtful, but if Gohan wasn't mistaken, there was some nervousness there, even fear.

"It is ancient kearn, the native language of those on Vegeta-sei. Zeruf is the saiyan afterlife and to say Oozaru Saiyan is to mean true saiyan or a true warrior. Kakarot was saying that he was going to send to his other son to death as a true saiyan through the traditional way."

"But Goku lost his memory," piped in Krillin. "How can he know about this let alone speak in another language?"

"I don't know," simply said Vegeta, who had a vein throbbing on his forehead. 

Gohan notice that Vegeta was making some uneasy glances his way and felt that something was being held back. For a moment he considered if he should say anything or press for more information but decided against it. He got the impression that Vegeta would rather be left alone on the subject and if needed he could ask later.


	7. Ch. 6: Too Close for Comfort

Kakarot examined the room with a lazy eye. This place had designed for sparring and nothing but, that much was obvious, especially with the salty scent of sweat thick in the air. This room had been used recently. Most likely by Vegeta and his son Gohan considering the heaviness of the smell. He doubted that the brats or that weakling human could work out this hard.

There was a gravity machine but because it might take up too much space the ship controls and it were pressed to one side to help protect them from any ki blasts or a stray limb that might hit it, of course that was absolutely so defence against a direct attack.

He walked calmly over to them and rearing up one leg used the other one to smash through the control panel and watched in fascination as the wires let out little snapping sounds and small bolts of electricity sparked into there air, vainly searching for the place they were suppose to go.

They seemed desperate to try in complete the task they had been made for. It was completely pointless to resist. Fate had chosen for them to die, so why try to escape that fact? Why try? It was funny actually, humorous really. Such hopelessness yet they tried to fight their destiny.

Never the less, it was interesting to watch as they fought like that for no reason whatsoever and the ever so slowly the electricity came out fewer times, more a spluttering rather than a frequent flowing, than it finally stopped.

The saiyan smile didn't outwardly but rather deep inside he was laughing at the miracle of this simple power that was destruction. The power that _he _had.

His eyes gained a dreamy look as he wondered what would happen if used that one trick on a set of controls. The one that his brother Raditz had taught him as a little boy. You gathered a bit of energy on your finger focused it into a small ball and using a good amount of concentration you could make go where ever you wanted. It was a wonderful little ability and the tiny sphere could cut through virtually anything making it a lot more dangerous attack than it looked.

Raditz had had many tricks like that. Shame… that green-eared freak of a namek had killed him. A slight annoyance at the most. He hadn't like his brother much anyway, too tall for his taste and his voice was a little ratty sounding, plus the other saiyan had been bossy. It didn't matter either way he would learn such things later as soon as his business here was taken care of.

He decided not to use the ability. To do so would mean raising his power level too much and he didn't want his 'friends' to know where he was. Not yet at least. He could feel them though. 

His youngest child's ki was unsteady, going up and down at a rapid pace. It sort of reminded him of the wires working so hard to try to survive and with absolutely no hope. The boy would probably slowly recover even without medical treatment but eventually he would die so what was the point? Didn't he realise how hopeless it was to resist?

Kakarot had had some regrets about hurting the boy. The child had incredibly strength for his age and no doubt could be a strong ally but he had bigger plans and unfortunately they couldn't include two heirs, besides the brat acted too much like Goku. A person that he really didn't want any reminders about.

The other brat Trunks and the human seemed to be tending to Goten. Currently he didn't need to worry about them, and examined the ki of Gohan and Vegeta. He refused to think of him as Prince Vegeta, he was too soft to be royalty and soon a new more powerful line would be forged. 

Those two weren't moving right now. Were they talking? Maybe they were trying to sense him? Soon enough they wouldn't have to sense him to find where he was and finally the smile that was inside him crept onto his face like a fungus.

* * *

"Could it be spinal damage?" Trunks asked. Concern flooded from his eyes and even a bit of moisture was building in their corners.

Krillin looked down at Goten, who had now been moved onto some blankets on the floor, wasn't sure what to say. The wound itself had been a bloody line that stretched over Goten's neck showing bits of muscle though in general it was fairly shallow and had been bandaged up easily. "I am not sure," he stated, a huge understatement. He didn't have a clue.

"Spinal damage can result in temporary or permanent paralisation. Sometimes it will show in symptoms like seizures and or a coma," the demi-saiyan rattled on, then took Goten's right wrist, placed two of his fingers on the vein going down the other boy's arm, looked at clock on a wall and compared Goten's pulse to the time that was going by. "It seems likely considering his state, but I doubt it is as serious for him as it would be for most people."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Krillin couldn't help feeling slightly amused by Trunks' actions. The lavender haired youth had always complained about his mother forcing him to learn some science like the rest of his family, but despite the boy's greatest efforts to moan and groan his way out of it, he had learned a lot, plus he was good at it.

"Well Dr. Briefs," he said. "What is your diagnosis?"

Trunks didn't even flinch. "It is probably a mild form of a spinal injury, more a shock to the system than any real damage. For now lets keep him warm."

"You keep an on him. I'll get some clothes."

Krillin went over to a door that led into Goten's bedroom and entered. He managed to clamber over the toys and magazines that were thrown over the floor and got to a small shelf that stored the boy's clothes. The human randomly grabbed a V-neck wool sweater, a pair of baggy pants and a huge pink shirt that Chi Chi had forced Goten to bring.

When returning he flew over the toys and hurried back to Trunks. Together they managed to get it onto their 'patient'. By the end Krillin was feeling all too much like a nurse. 

"It sort of looks like a dress," Trunks commented looking at the pink shirt they had put over everything. It did and was so long that it went well over Goten's knees and Krillin doubted that that he would have consented to wearing it if he were awake.

"It would be a good idea to get him into the rejuvenation chamber," said Trunks. 

"That would cause some problems. The rejuvenation chamber was two decks up and well… _he's _out there." Krillin turned to Vegeta and Gohan stood nearby, trying to locate Goku, but at the same time listen to what was going on. 

"What do you guys think?" Krillin asked.

"I don't think it matters one way or the other, since I am here," said someone.


	8. Ch. 7: Meet Kakarot

There was a long pause.

All movement stilled. 

All breath stopped.

All eyes were glued to the still wide open door that led into the room. Would a spiky headed saiyan appear from it at any second? How would they fight him?

After what seemed to be hours, the spell was broken. Gohan was the first to move and swiftly ran to the door, slamming it shut. He grasped for a lock and to his horror found there was none and so turning around, he braced himself against the door.

Vegeta just stood there and watched as ever so slowly the handle turned and Gohan was almost knocked off his feet when someone outside smashed against the door. 

Was this Kakarot and if it was, what was he up to? The rational part of his brain felt like it was on a holiday. If that third class baka wanted to enter this room all he had to do was to telaport inside. He was perfectly capable of doing it, but…

The nagging feel at the back of Vegeta's neck seemed to flare up into a full-blown headache. 

The Right of Blood, that would explain Kakarot not using more 'dishonourable' techniques. The prince stopped himself from swallowing. He remembered his father teaching about that part in saiyan culture. A piece that had disturbed even him, but it had happened so rarely on Vegeta-sei since royalty usually was the strongest on the planet and the last time it had happened was before the rule of Saiy and the initiation of his bloodline, over a thousand years ago.

How could this be happening? If Kakarot had wanted to claim the Right, why not do it on Namek where Vegeta had been completely at his mercy. It made no sense.

What about his brat Gohan? He must know that it wouldn't be easy to convince the boy to accept his part in the Right, especially after Kakarot had tried to kill Goten.

"Vegeta! VEGETA!!!" The saiyan prince looked to see Krillin and two Super Saiyans, Trunks and Gohan, pushing frantically against the door, but little by little their feet slid along the ground.

"Hey," yelled Gohan not feeling very patient while his golden aura flared, "if you're done daydreaming yet, could you help us?"

Powering up to Super Saiyan as well, Vegeta charged at the door. Managing to relieve the pressure for a few moments, before it was resumed, this time tripled.

"We can't keep this up," grunted Gohan and managed a glance at the struggling Krillin and a terrified looking Trunks whom had turned as white as a sheet, then past them to his younger brother. 

Goten stirred, managed to open his eyes, take in the sight before him, and whispered "Gohan?" Then not being able to keep consciousness for much longer fell back asleep. The boy seemed so much younger than eight, almost like a baby, completely unable to take care of himself.

"We've got to make our move soon," the oldest half-breed stated.

"Yes," agreed Vegeta trying to make a plan while pushing as hard possible. "What do you see anything back there that could be useful?" While the prince was facing the door, Gohan had a view of the room.

Gohan scanned the room quickly yet trying to be thorough at the same time. There was a set of controls for the ship. There was the quickly diminishing food supply and the door leading into their bedrooms, nothing useful in there as far as he knew. It seemed like the chamber was completely bare of anything that could help in the least

Then, near the floor, he saw what they needed.

"There is an air vent back there near the refrigerator, right down by the floor. Its got a grid over the opening, but I think the bolts can be removed with little trouble," he said.

"Great, we can escape through it," Krillin said.

Gohan felt a tightness in his chest build up. "No Krillin, me and Vegeta are too big to fit through it, besides somebody is going to have to hold the door. I guess we've been voluntered"

"But…"

"Take care of Goten for me, alright?"

Krillin knew better than to argue. He didn't like, but he knew it couldn't be avoided. "Don't get yourselves killed, you two." The human sighed. "Trunks? Ready little buddy? I'll grab Goten. You open the grid."

The young Briefs voice trembled "But what about Tousan and Gohan? We just can't leave them?"

"Hey don't worry," Krillin said trying to push confidence into his speech. "Those two were taking care of themselves before you were born."

Trunks nodded.

"Alright! At the count of three. One… Two… THREE!!!" 

Krillin dived for Goten and grabbed the youth slinging him into his arms, while Trunks went for the air vent. The bolts were made for strength, they would be almost impossible to break. At first he fumbled, desperately trying to break them off, but finally recovering his senses, he managed to firmly grab them and they were removed in ten seconds flat.

Meanwhile, Gohan and Vegeta were struggling like crazy to keep the door shut.

"They're gone," Gohan gasped with thankfulness when he saw Trunks and Krillin slide Goten and themselves through the vent into its dark depths.

Together Gohan and Vegeta let go of the door and jumped back into fighting stances. They weren't fools, they knew they had no chance but they had to try.

The doorway was empty and for one blissful second it seemed like maybe it had been there imagination.

Then in came Goku at an incredibly leisurely pace. His face wore a smile that had an almost had a quality to it that sent chills up and down Gohan's spine. 

Vegeta wasn't much better and looked at the other saiyan with the headache spreading to the rest of his body. "What is this about Kakarot?"

"Kakarot…" repeated the other saiyan with a disturbing chuckle.

"First you almost kill your son and now you're going after your other one? Have you gone mad?" Vegeta continued.

An almost wistful expression appeared on the other's face. "I went mad a long time ago, Vegeta, and you know nothing of it is like, truly like, or even what leads to it. Yet sometimes it is in insanity where the path can be fully realised." The strange smile disappeared and was replaced by one of determination. "Oh well, business should come first."

The saiyan became a blur of speed and charged.

The world for Gohan and Vegeta went black.


	9. Ch. 8: Messes

__

Slide. Stop. Slide.

Huh?

Slide. Stop. Slide.

Someone or someones griping legs and shoulders. Trapped? Captured?

Stop.

"I left them. First my best friend gets hurt because of me and now I've abandoned Tousan and Gohan."

"It wasn't your fault that Goten got hurt and the others… I told you they could take care of themselves, besides I left as well."

"Yeah, but only because someone had to take care of Goten."

"Maybe so but you could take care of him just as well as me."

"Whatever."

"Hey, his ki is stable!"

__

What?

Argh!!! Neck on fire! Pain! Fire! Fire!

Hand being lifted. Wrist touched.

"Krillin his pulse is stronger! I think he is getting better!"

__

Better? But neck?

"Then why hasn't he woken up?"

"I wouldn't want to wake up if my otousan attacked me."

"Did he just say something?"

Goten opened his eyes. At first they refused to focus and watered making the world a blurry site, but he forced himself to blink a few times and slowly took in the scene around him.

A shadowy spectre of a face came into view. "Welcome back to the land of the living," it said.

"Why is it so dark?" The youngest saiyan's words came out at a sluggish pace and it felt like each word was a tongue twister.

"We're in an air vent," said somebody else. It sounded familiar, younger than the other one and very urgent. "Don't worry we'll be getting you out of here soon."

There was a clacking sound and grey light filtered in.

Goten felt the grips on his arms and legs tighten and he was slid through some tight opening into the light. For a moment it blinded him, but where his vision failed his memory arised.

__

Flashes. 

Playing with Trunks. Laughter.

His father Goku smiling strangely, then NO! He charges at him. Hits him.

PLEASE NO! NO!!

Being taken somewhere. To safety?

"What… what happened?"

"I don't know Goten… I just don't know."

The boy felt himself being propped against a wall and his eyes adjusted and he saw Krillin and Trunks walk over to him and kneel down. 

The former monk's hands carefully touched the bandaged wound on his neck. Even though his fingers were being delicate, a searing pain lanced through the wound nearly knocking Goten out once more.

"We'll need to change these," Krillin commented and Trunks nodding, ripped one pant leg of his gi up to the knee, and quickly started tearing it into strips to make crude dark blue bandages.

"It was all just a dream. Right Krillin?" asked Goten as Krillin started unwinding the old bandages from his neck. The earthling gazed at him for a second and then looked away.

There was no answer and Trunks took his right hand giving it a warm comforting squeeze, but the boy didn't want comfort. He wanted it to be fake, not truth. The truth wasn't possible. The truth couldn't happen.

"Right? Tousan wouldn't do this to me. Right?" Goten felt his eyes become red as tears began to build and soon they seeped through uncontrolled, falling down his cheeks in shiny groups. 

How could one reply to such a question? Was it even possible?

"Right?" he begged, desperation filling his tone and hope, all hope, was dwindling fast. "Krillin? Trunks?" The demi-saiyan looked from one of his companions to the other.

He didn't need an answer. Their faces told it all and despair like a wave rushed over him drowning him in its cold depth.

"Gohan. I want Gohan. Please, I just want my brother," Goten pleaded and he repeated it again and again, softer each time until finally it was a murmur in his sleep.

* * *

The boy was out again and Krillin wasn't sure what to think or feel. For a while the warrior just stood and stared at nothing in particular not at Goten, not at Trunks, not at anything. Part of him had been clinging to the idea that Trunks had been wrong whether he had been lying or mistaken or anything but this. Unfortunately Goten's words had been all too clear and now they knew what was going on.

__

Why after all this time, Goku? I thought I knew you and now you go and do this.

Krillin finished changing Goten's bandages and then with the help of Trunks, they managed to get the youth onto the Krillin's back. Nobody would have thought the boy was so heavy at first glance, but underneath the bright orange outfit was a set of battle hardened muscle that at this point was limp and supported not one ounce of its own weight.

"Lets get going," Krillin said and turned to Trunks. The Briefs' face was blank and he took in what he saw with a great deal of indifference and it made the human wonder how he had looked a few minutes earlier. The earthling lightly touched Trunks' shoulder getting his attention and with Goten on his back and Trunks behind him they walked down the hall.

They moved mechanically and Krillin felt stupid for being out in the open, but they couldn't stay in the air vents forever, especially with Goten being injured. Unfortunately the chamber with the healing tank was still a floor up and going up there with _him _somewhere wasn't exactly a good way to get anyone healthy, and get himself and Trunks to lose a great deal of health.

Each step seemed all too loud and he didn't dare fly in the chance that _he_ might sense his Krillin's ki signature. Another little bonus was that ship had been designed in the normal roundish Capsule Corp. fashion, allowing his view to be hampered by the consistent curve of the hall, always allowing a place for an enemy to be hiding.

Eventually after going at their snail pace for a few minutes they came to one particular door that Krillin remembered from before this had all started. Beckoning Trunks, he trudged over, opened it, and they entered together.

It was a small room, a bathroom to be exact. There was a mirror reflecting the figures of the three occupants and adding onto the picture with flicks of shaving cream and toothpaste. Below it was a sink and counter covered with a mess of hairbrushes, shampoo bottles, toothbrushes, and other such things, all carelessly scattered there by a group of lazy males. He remembered Chichi saying "You men can train all day and all night, but you can never get the energy to clean up after yourselves." On the right was a shower and toilet that were considerably cleaner. 

Trunks broke out of the trance he had been in. "Don't tell me you have to _go _at a time like this?" he exclaimed.

"No, that isn't why we're here but this is," Krillin explained and closing the door indicated to the lock on the handle. It seemed to silly say that a simple lock was enough to stop a Super Saiyan from breaking in, but this was Briefs made.

"I get it; we can stay here until help arrives."

Krillin shook his head and carefully took Goten off his back and placed him into Trunks' arms. "No, you guys are staying here. I am going to see what I can do." It was a ridiculous idea, but he might able to something to help the others. True, he wasn't as powerful as some but he could surely so something in this mess.

"Wait a sec, I am stronger than you. I should…" Trunks started.

"No," Krillin interrupted. He must be nuts even considering going out there. "I know you want to help and I understand, but if something goes wrong you'll be able to protect Goten better than I ever could. I don't think I could do any good that way, but I do have some ability at sneaking around and that might help out."

There was no protest but the lavender-haired half-breed sighed. 

"Come back," he said. It sounded more like a order than a request, a sign of how much like he was like his parents.

"I will try," answered the human and headed out of the washroom. The door shut behind him, and he didn't leave until he heard the soft click of the lock being set into place.

As he walked he couldn't help but rub his temples and came back to the grate that he had come through minutes before and getting down started crawling through the darkness. It was stuffy from dust and hot. He didn't understand why the ventalation wasn't working properly, yet that wasn't on his mind in the least.

It had been bad enough crawling through here when he had been with the others needing to slide Goten up through the little space while Trunks pulled Goten, a slow job that had taken an hour. Now it was worse. He felt like a piece of mouse going down into the belly of a snake where he would die a very painful death.

Okay… Maybe his imagination needed a break.

"How the HFIL do I get into these messes?" he muttered. Despite the comment he knew exactly why.

__

Gohan and you too Vegeta, you better be alive.


	10. Ch. 9: Less than Good

A couple things I need to say first. I am currently sick with a nasty flu so this probably isn't my best chapter. I may go over it later and fix it up.

The other thing is am sorry about the infrequent updates, you see I am currently being pressure from all sides and writing fanfics is pretty much at the bottom of my list.

* * *

The unconscious Gohan and Vegeta lay bound on the floor of the residential area. A long white cord wound tightly around them, tying their arms and legs together and pressing their backs viciously together.

The cord was the safety tether of a spacesuit that was designed for outer-ship repair, not unlike the one that Goku had used to repair the asteroid in his ship on the way to Namek. It had thankfully had a place to disconnect it and had come off with little trouble.

It was amusing. It was hilarious. In fact it was the funniest thing that Kakarot had ever seen and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. Perhaps it was because that Vegeta had always been privately terrified that his bloodline and _Kakarot_'s would somehow become _bound_ together? Or because after all these years he would triumph and finally take his rightful place as ruler in the universe. First of his people and then of all else. He would be beyond Freeza, beyond King Kold, beyond ANY emperor that was, is, and will be.

Looking down at his captives, he doubted that the other saiyans would argue against his right to claim the Right. _The right to claim the Right? _He chuckled. Anyways, Kakarot was sure he could handle Vegeta and Gohan could surely handle Trunks.

Thinking of Trunks, he glared at open-air vent in the wall. Little inconveniences like this were to be expected, but it was still annoying. Now the little prince, his younger son, and the midget were wandering around the ship somewhere and they most likely could cause some problems.

He walked over to vent, got down on his knees and poked his head in. There was no sign of the trouble makers, not that he expected them to be there, but with shadows covering most of the tunnel's depths virtually anything could be hidden. He leaned in further and jammed his shoulders in the incredibly tight space. All at once he was plunged into darkness and his mind started screaming.

"Not again, not again…" he whispered. "I didn't surrender before, and I won't now. SO LET ME GO!"

The darkness seemed to pulse around him, consuming him, smothering him in it, and slowly tightening its blanket around him. Trying to sweep him away to something that scared. His bones becoming numb with fear and chills wracking his very soul.

He screamed like a man's whose existence was at stake, the sound high-pitched with a dry quality to it.

He struggled, screaming again and again. Then suddenly he was out and sitting on the floor of residential area once more. Trembling he go to his feet and fought the urge to throw up and to let the sobs that were building in the bottom of his stomach overthrow him.

__

Never again, he promised. He would never go back to that place. Never again.

Trying to regain his previous humour, he moved back to where his prisoners were, and promptly kicking Vegeta in the gut. Hearing the sound of flesh hitting his foot and seeing the saiyan prince's eyes bulge as he was harshly awoken, was some condolence to his previous torture.

* * *

Vegeta grunted as the pain lanced through his body and forced himself to look about. He saw that he was still in the residential area. Lying on his right side, he felt something pressing against his back and twisted his neck around to see a still groggy Gohan tied back to back with him and slowly waking up.

What was that third class baka up to? 

"How are you feeling, Vegeta?" The saiyan prince grimly looked up. Unfortunately he was all too ready for seeing his capturer standing above him, his looking greedily down at Vegeta and once again with that odd smile on his face.

"How are you feeling, Vegeta?" Goku repeated with an almost taunting quality, but he didn't say these words in any earth language that the prince knew. He said the words in kearn. Kearn had once been spoken commonly among saiyans, their ancestors, the kearns, and even the despised tsufuru-jin, but as time went by, it was only taught for traditional purposes and intergalactic languages were spoken even among their own.

"What are up to, Kakarot?" Vegeta answered in the same language. 

"Where would be the fun in telling you that? Either way, I think you know or at least suspect."

"_Wereti das Freoil Geadu,_" Vegeta muttered. The Right of Blood or in this case the Right of Royal Blood, a tradition passed down through each generation, the chance to take over the rights and privileges of a bloodline. There was only two bloodlines currently, Kakarot's and his. He glared at the other saiyan. "You think that if you take over my line it will give you any special power. Our people are virtually dead. What do you expect to achieve through this?"

Goku's eyes seemed to glow and that annoying smile disappeared and a patronising expression crossed his features. "After living on Earth for such a long time, Vegeta, I would think that you would know that some barriers are less… how can I say it? … Less permanent than others."

The dragon balls, so that was what he was planning. "And you believe that our people will just bow to you might? I am the prince, after all and they all know it."

"You've already betrayed them once, my _prince_. You didn't try and resurrect them and you broke the rule of royal inheritance. Only low levels who have no expectations for power have more than one child and if I understand correctly your mate has just given birth to a second, a daughter, and you have made no signs that you are planning to disown or kill her, nor have you been planning to do that with your son.

"Once I kill my younger son, me and my other son will merely show our superiority over you and your son in battle and the people shall rally behind us as King and Prince of the Saiyan Empire."

Vegeta almost laughed out loud. "You really think that he will join you after you tried to kill his brother? Are you mad? I though you actually had some common sense, Kakarot, and you went and spawned this scheme. You need a co-operative heir and I doubt that Gohan would ever do such a thing."

"I am not quite that mad, Vegeta. I am sure that he wouldn't do such a thing, but if I recall at when that young namek Dende who calls himself Kami said that when he remade the dragon balls that the were made so they could grant two wishes. One to revive our people, and another to make Gohan more open to this idea." Goku's eyes glittered as he said the words. 

"Why after all this time, why now?" came a hoarse voice from right behind Vegeta. Gohan, it seemed had been more aware that they had suspected. "Why now, Tousan? First you'll murder Goten and maybe Krillin, brainwash me, then kill Vegeta and Trunks after this Right thing?"

"Let's say I am not the man as you knew."

__

So much for keeping your plans to yourself, thought Vegeta and felt Gohan sigh as the demi-saiyan came to the dark realisation of his brother and friends' fate.

"Well, I really must be going you know. I still must capture little Trunks and mustn't keep Goten and the weakling human waiting," said Goku casually, as if he were talking about a walk in the park, rather than the destruction of lives."

"Please don't do this," said Gohan. "Wouldn't it be better if I joined your side willingly?"

Goku pretty much giggled at the words, shook his head and went towards the door. Vegeta puzzled at Gohan's comment for a while. Gohan had to know that Kakarot would never believe him, and the half-breed would never join such a cause willingly no matter what, so why?

It came to him in a flash. The young man was stalling, giving the others time to come up with a plan.

"If a third class baka like you ever became king of our kind, next we'll wear frilly dresses and sip tea at tea time everyday, and go shopping," added Vegeta and Goku turned and eyed him.

"Like you're any better," the other saiyan exclaimed. "You've made a mockery of saiyans everywhere with your soft-heartedness and choosing a mate who couldn't throw a punch if her life depended on it."

"Maybe so, Kakarot, but at least mine has more useful skills than yelling and throwing frying pans around."

Goku made a strange expression and looked thoughtfully at Vegeta. "You're trying hard to trick me, my _prince_, giving them time to get ready for something. Well trust me, whatever they are planning it won't work. I've been up to other things myself, but better safe than sorry."

With that, Goku walked over Gohan and Vegeta and pulled at the tether that bounded them so tightly that a grimace covered both their faces. Taking what slack was left of the cord, he tied it onto the handle of Gohan's bedroom door. "Just so you don't fly away," he said cheerfully and with that he left.

They struggled with the bounds for a few minutes, twisting in awkward positions in attempts to untie each other by themselves, but elbows bashed into faces, hands ended up in more embarrassing places, overall a more than slightly painful circumstance. 

Whenever the tried to move away, the knots became tighter and tighter, digging into their skin like teeth.

"Any ideas?" asked Gohan.

Vegeta didn't answer.


	11. Ch. 10: Little Things...

Trunks sat on the floor and stared at the clock on the bathroom wall. The clock seemed to taunt him; of all the shapes that his mother could of picked, she had chosen a pizza, a PIZZA-shaped clock and its two hands being pointed at 12:14 reminding him of the lunch he was missing didn't seem to help. Of course he doubted that there would have been lunch anyways. Somehow he didn't think Gohan, Tousan and the others were somewhere munching on some chow.

His stomach growled. It seemed odd that with everything going on, he was actually feeling hungry. Most people lost their appetites when they were scared but as far as he could tell it only made saiyans, or at least half-saiyans even more hungry.

Goten at least didn't seem to be bothered. He was lying his back in the middle of the room still sleeping. There had been murmurs in his sleep but other than that the boy seemed quiet, almost too quiet for Trunks' liking.

Krillin had wanted him to take care of Goten and he was doing the best he could, every muscle in his body had wanted and still wanted to charge out the door and follow the human. He felt useless just sitting here waiting for something to happen and he toyed with the idea.

__

I wouldn't be much of a help either. I just stood there while Goten was hurt, like a little baby, but babies are helpless and I am not.

I am a stupid coward. 

What if I had waited a second longer? Goten would be dead and Tousan and the others wouldn't know that… he was out to get them.

I know why Krillin had told me to stay. It was because if I went, I'd just mess things up and just stand there like the coward I am.

He sat on the bathroom floor wallowing in his own self-pity. Trunks for the first time in years felt like crying, something he had long since forbidden himself to do. It wasn't like he hadn't failed at things before, but usually in those cases it had been easy to move on and not worry about the consequences. The simple fact was that he had failed Goten.

Finally, he forced himself to do something other than mope. Crawling over Goten, Trunks opened the cupboard beneath the sink and rummaged through its contents: About a dozen towels and cloths, some shampoo bottles, soap, conditioner (all too necessary for Vegeta's hair), and a first aid kit. 

Trunks took the kit and looking through its supplies. He was disappointed not to find any senzu beans. Who would think you needed senzu beans when you had a perfectly good healing tank? But none the less he found some more bandages and some rubbing alcohol that might be good for Goten's neck injury. It felt good to do something and he looked for a painkiller that he could somehow feed the other boy. 

* * *

__

Remind me to never, EVER, get tied up with Vegeta again, thought Gohan, and just to be safe he made a mental note.

He and Vegeta back to back were hovering five centimetres from the floor, Gohan facing down at the floor and the saiyan prince looking up at the ceiling. It had taken them almost thirty minutes to get like that and if that hadn't been bad enough, it had been thirty of arguing, yelling, bashing into things, power ups, and general discomfort.

Every time they had attempted to something had got in the way. Untying hadn't worked in the least, since neither could get their hangs anywhere near the knots. The first time they had tried flying, they had gone a fraction too high and the rope connecting to there own bonds to the door handle would thrown them off balance, making them land back on the floor. It wasn't much easier now. If they raised their power levels too high, Goku might get suspicious and come back, but if they kept too low, flying would be made impossible.

Gohan had always prided himself on being able to control his anger, yet had also learned to let it lose when it was needed to give an extra boost during a fight, but with the experiences of the day, he wanted to smash something and badly.

__

I can't let this control me. He had to get free and to do that he couldn't let his emotions rule him. What about those back on Earth? Bulma would no longer have a husband and son. His mother would lose her youngest and her husband. Or had Kaasan ever really had Goku? What about Videl and Pan? A shiver shot through him. 

If Goku made his wish, his daughter would grow up with a killing machine for her father. Would she become raised as a ruthless saiyan? His baby girl a warrior without any morals? Or would she be murdered with Vegeta and Trunks?

Videl… she would no doubt fight until the end. Ironically, it was her at least partially her fault that they were out here in the first place. She had suggested to Bulma that the saiyans go on an off planet trip while the construction workers replaced a section of Capsule Corp.. Trunks and Goten had been pestering Vegeta, the prince had sent a ki blast their way and they managed to dodge. The blast hadn't been powerful enough to hurt the two demi-saiyans, but that didn't go for the part of Capsule Corp. that it had hit.

So, his wife had innocently suggested the idea, and they all had been completely for it, and Krillin had wanted to tag along as well. Who knew what would have known the dark repercussions for such a simple idea?

Gohan heard Vegeta grumble to him "Well, have you stopped day dreaming or are you enjoying this?"

The demi-saiyan cleared his mind and slowly he and Vegeta edged towards the door.

* * *

Trunks sat against the wall and looked down at Goten feeling a little proud of himself. He had found some Tylenol and crushed a couple up, he had dissolved them in water, then carefully fed to Goten. He knew that the pills were could for mild pain like headaches and helping people sleep and not really for something like the other saiyan's neck, but none the less, Goten seemed to be sleeping easier.

He closed his eyes and opened his mind to the ki of the others in the ship. No sign _him _or Krillin. Trunks wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. If there were any major confrontation between anyone on the ship, they would probably have to raise their ki, but at the same time something may have happened when he wasn't paying attention.

Goten's own power had naturally suppressed itself, a talent that seemed to be mainly unconscious when it came to humans, but if one focused hard enough, they would feel him. When it came right down to it, unconscious ki abilities would not be a match for someone who knew where to look… or in this case feel.

Tousan and Gohan's powers seemed incredibly faint, steady but faint. At the first second he felt them, he had almost assumed that they had been severely injured recently, yet if that were the case, he doubted that their powers would stay at the same level. 

Hopefully they were planning something. Trunks to be honest wasn't sure how much Krillin could do for them. Kaasan had told him plenty of stories about the 'good old days' when she was still young, and she claimed that the ex-monk was reliable and Trunks certain she was right, but Krillin's ki was only a little over a million and Goku's was considerably higher than that.

Rubbing his back against the wall, to try to get rid of an itch bothering, he felt a flicker of ki near by, and suddenly was alert. A cat with haunches raised. The flicked had been small, but it was certainly there. He glanced at the door uneasily and his eyes flashed to where the hinges should have been, and felt himself tense. 

The hinges were outside and if he could open an air vent with his bare hands, was it possible for the same to be done with a door? All that was needed was for the pins that connected the door hinges to the wall, and lock or no lock, it wouldn't be enough.

There was a scratch on the door. 


	12. Ch. 11: Move it!!!

I hate this chapter. It took me a week to write and I kept on getting stuck on the first two pages.

Anyways, I just want to mention I've got a mailing for updates on my site. This will also mention when I've updated Kakarot's Revenge, so if you want to join it either mention so in your review or e-mail me at teekoness@hotmail.com .

* * *

Krillin moved through the air vent. Strength or no strength it was no easy task to perform and if anything the muscles he had developed after so many years of hard work were getting in the way. At least it was better now that he didn't have to help get Goten through here.

Now that Goten and Trunks were safe, he didn't have a clue how he was going to deal with Goku. How do defeat someone who is about a hundred times stronger and better trained than you? If he could somehow out smart Goku, that would be a start, but how?

He stopped near one grid that led out of the vents and looked outside. It was one of the bedrooms; probably Gohan's since there was a stack of books next to the bed and a picture of his family on a shelf. The door leading into the recreational was a crack open. Would Goku leave the door open on purpose, or was this some type of trap?

The human sighed and started undoing the screws that held the grid in place, grabbing at their pointy ends and turning. It wasn't long before they had all fallen to the ground. If this was a trap he would _probably _have time to escape before he was caught and whether he liked it or not this was his best bet and so getting up on his hands and knees, he slid himself out of the vent and into the blessed fresh air.

Creeping carefully to the door, he mentally prepared for a fight. Each muscle tensed and his breathing increased slightly. He pressed his back against the wall and looked through the door's crack into the recreational area. After scanning the area, he saw no sign of Goku, yet at the same time there was no sign of Vegeta and Gohan. Goku could have moved them… or he could have blasted them into a ball of ash then swept them under the carpet.

Krillin hoped his first idea was true.

He entered the chamber searching for clues to where his friends could have gone, and in a matter of seconds, he found out that neither of his ideas were right, when Gohan and Vegeta smashed into him, sending all three of them to the floor.

"Ouch," said Krillin and he getting up, he pushed Vegeta's foot off of his face. He stood up and looked at his companions. They were bound together with some white rope, and another one rope that was tied to their binds and to a handle of the door he had come from.

He leaned and helped them get onto their side, so that poor Gohan's face wasn't smushed into the floor anymore. "So why did you do that?" Krillin asked.

"We thought you were Kakarot," growled Vegeta, forcing Gohan's face back into the floor so that he could look at the human. The halfling barely gave Vegeta enough time to say his comment and then pushed him into the floor instead.

Krillin decided it was best not to ask why those two were acting about as mature as a pair of monkeys and knelt next to them regarding their bonds. He got a grip on one of the loops in the knot and pulled, only for his fingers to slip off. Trying again, the loop didn't budge and he repeated his attempts until his nails started aching.

"How tight did he tie these things anways?" he asked more to himself than anyone, trying once more.

The knot just would not loosen. It didn't help that he couldn't get a strong enough grip on any of the loops. Every time he yank at it, his fingers would slowly slip off and the knot would remain completely intact. 

He considered using a Destructo Disk to cut through the rope, but immediately knew that was useless. The disks hadn't been able to cut through Cell and compared to this ship and its equipment, Cell was a piece of paper to steel. If only he had a hook or something with a sharp enough edge to get underneath a loop so he could pull… Maybe a Destructo Disk wasn't such a bad idea.

Calming himself, he focused. First he needed the proper mind state. The disk was only as sharp as the mind that formed it. Normally Krillin would have made it quickly, since in battle you didn't really have time to think properly, but to get the edge distinct enough to do the job now, he had to be in complete control.

Breath in, breath out. Ki formed in his right hand. Not a lot. He only wanted a small disk.

Breath in, breath out. One edge dull so he could grip without hurting himself, the others narrowing at the ends. Going off into oblivion to made them as sharp as possible. He was done and held the Destructo Disk carefully and took hold of the dull part.

Getting a sharp edge under the knot's loop, he pulled with all his might until finally it loosened. After wrenching at the knot further, this time bracing himself with his legs, it finally came undone it a matter of microseconds, throwing Krillin off balance and making the Destructo Disk barely missing his head and succeeding giving him an unwanted hair cut.

Gohan and Vegeta got to their feet. They didn't seem harmed though he noticed some rubbing of body parts that had been touching the rope.

"Where's Trunks and Goten? We've got to hide them," said Gohan as he looked around for the two children

"Don't worry they're in the bathroom. The door's locked. They'll be safe in there until we can figure out what is happening here," Krillin explained.

Gohan looked relieved and leaned against a chair. "I think we already know what's going on. Mostly anyways."

"He's after Goten?" That might explain why the little half-breed had been harmed. Of course why was a different thing.

Vegeta's eyes flickered to the door leading into the hall and answered "He wants to kill Goten and after claiming the Right he will kill Trunks and I."

"What's this Right?"

"It's an old saiyan tradition that can make a person's status go up by killing off another saiyan's family if there is a good enough reason," said Gohan. He looked uneasily at Krillin. "He needs to kill Goten to be eligible to take over Vegeta's position as leader of the saiyan people. Goku is going to use the dragon balls to wish back the saiyans and then he will kill Vegeta and his children."

Krillin noted that he called his father Goku instead of Tousan. Even with that affection that was taken away when Gohan referred to his father, Goku was a name associated with kindness and loyalty and not this sort of thing. "You said there has to be a reason but what?"

"The Saiyan Royal Line is only allowed one child, that's why Goten must be killed," said Vegeta darkly. "If they had more than one heir or heiress, there would be fighting for the throne and chaos would break out. To keep my position without constant challenges I would have to either have disown Bra at birth, leaving her to a life on the streets or kill her or Trunks."

Krillin had to admit that he felt a new sense of respect for Vegeta. The prince actually cared for his children. More than once he wondered what Vegeta would do if he were reunited with his kind and now he knew. He turned to Gohan with one more question, one more thing that he didn't understand. He knew he was bound to die if Goku had his way, but… "Gohan, what would happen to you?"

The young man looked at him blankly. "From what I understand, Goku would need his heir to kill Trunks to properly take the position. He plans to use the dragon balls' other wish to brainwash me."

"At least Goten and Trunks are safe for now," Krillin muttered.

"I don't think so," growled Vegeta.

"But the door is locked and you know how strong everything in here is."

"Then why is Trunks raising his ki?"

* * *

Trunks carefully placed Goten in the cupboard below the sink. So often he and his friend had always dreamed about being big powerful adults like their fathers, but now Goten being kid size might save his life. He closed the cupboard doors, concealing his best friend from sight and faced the towels and other junk that had been underneath sink before he had taken it out to make a hiding place for Goten. He quickly picked up the stuff and put in the bathtub pulling the shower curtain in front of it. If Goku saw the stuff, he might suspect where his son was. Only two things remained out, a towel and an open bottle of shampoo.

Tipping the shampoo onto the floor, Trunks spread it so it covered most of the ground, then hovered above the ground with the towel in hand and pushed his power to the max, a full blown Super Saiyan level one. If with his adrenaline pumping through every vein in his body he felt regret. He would have to leave Goten. Hopefully it would make them both safer, but he still didn't like it.

The scratching at the door stopped. In a movie this would be the moment where the door would open revealing his father, Gohan or some other friend, but this wasn't a movie, and door opened there was Goku smirking.

Trunks smashed through between Goku's legs, flying at his top speed, then flipped around throwing the towel over the man's head, and the halfling pushed him into the bathroom as hard as he could, and flew for his life, barely hearing the sound of Goku skidding on the shampoo and falling over.

Despite all the fear that pulsed in Trunks, an out of place thought went through his head. He had beaten someone stronger than him using brains.

Kaasan would be proud.


	13. Ch. 12: Wrecked Plans

Sorry about this chapter being short. Remember I've got a sit mailing list that you can join by either mentioning so in your review or e-mailing me at teekoness@hotmail.com .

By the way to answer Lost Saiyan's question about how many chapters are left it could be anywhere from three to six. I am really not sure. I know what will happen, but I don't know exactly how long it will take. 

Well, on with the story.

* * *

Kakarot dug into himself and used a flicker of his ki to put himself into the air just so his feet brushed the slimey gunk covering the bathroom floor. The stuff lay there below him, submissive to one that it knew his power should have been, yet it had showed its rebellion and a good ruler let no infraction pass him by. Forming ki in his left hand, he threw it onto the floor with a quick flick of the wrist. It instantly evaporated the stuff.

Some part of him understood how idiotic it was to destroy the guck as if to punish it. The stuff was a slippery liquid and not a living thing. It had been spread across the ground by Trunks and not gone there of its own free will. Shampoo with free will? Still, while logic told him he was wrong, his mind continued to rave, betraying him with every idea.

He was insane, that much he had long come to terms with and he had long since learned that he just didn't care. After so many years of the watching everything around him and feeling his body move against his will, the insanity had been his only real companion. People said that you weren't mad if you thought you were mad, but he knew better.

The supposed future ruler of the universe was getting annoyed. Vegeta's brat had caused problems not once, not twice, but three times. True they were trivial things at first glance. Him getting away and later assisting the human with taking his youngest son from him, then disgracing him. 

Why had the boy taken Goten anyway? Had Vegeta not taught his son a word of saiyan culture? Goten would die a death fit for a king. To die for the allowing a family to ascend to royal status was an honour, when the child reached Zereuf, the saiyans would treat him as one of the royal family, a high one too. Even if for some reason he didn't succeed in becoming the new king of the saiyans, it was considered a great honour to be sacrificed in an attempt for glory.

This was the sort of reason that Vegeta had to die. It was so simple really. One didn't have to point out his many flaws to know that it had to be this way. The flaws didn't matter. The truth was that Kakarot was meant for greatness and Vegeta wasn't. It just was that way and no other explanation was required. Some things were the ways they were.

Either way he would enjoy ending the other man's life. Snuffing it out like it was a candle. All that was needed was two fingers to pinch the flame, or a quick blow. Life was a delicate flower and Vegeta only had one petal left.

He tingled slightly. The feeling of that he had been dipped in cool water spread over him. The wave of anger was quenched now and he blushed slightly at his previous outburst.

The bathroom was empty sadly. No air vent for tiny Goten to be hidden in. Trunks hadn't been carrying the other demi-saiyan, he supposed that the human had him stashed away somewhere. Still, why was the weaker of the two watching the child?

He idly noticed the door of the cupboard below the sink was open slightly. On impulse he closed it, almost startled by the speed that he did so, but it seemed there was no relevance it wondering why he had done that.

There was no sign of Trunks now; the young prince was hiding his ki once more and most likely cowering in some far off corner of the ship. On the other hand, he could be trying to free his father and Gohan currently. Nothing to worry about though. He had tied their ropes too tight for anyone but himself to loosen, still…

He moved out the door at an almost leisurely pace, heading to where his prisoners were kept. At the same time, he fantasised what he would do once he was the ruler of his people. Probably he would keep the Briefs around for the technical abilities, and most likely his mate as well. Despite her weakness, she had a temper that he admired and he would love to see her reaction to the knowledge that her friendly sweet Goku was gone.

Reaching the door of the residential area, he opened it expected to see a struggling Gohan and Vegeta, no doubt trying some comical escape plan. Instead he saw a white rope lying on the ground and no sign of anyone. He didn't even bother checking the bedrooms. They were gone and every inch of him knew it.

There was no rage for some reason, only a twinge of annoyance. Why did the bathroom still seem to be significant to him? Trying to think about it didn't help. It was as if part of his mind refused to operate. 

__

Leave me alone, Goku. This is my head! This is my body! GET OUT! Pausing for a second, he took a moment to think. _You know little tidbit that you don't want me to know. You saw something. Haven't you? Either that or you've figured something out and you don't want me to see it, but I think I know what…_

Hurrying back into the bathroom. Kakarot laughed quietly as he got down on his hands and knees, and opened the cupboard, revealing a sleeping innocently Goten underneath the pipes of the sink. _You're helping me without even intending to. Do you like that, Goku? Do you? Do you like helping our…no…**my** son to his death? No one seems to get it. Not you, Vegeta or anyone, but me. You should feel grateful to be able to watch my ascent to power._

Taking Goten out, he took a moment to consider his options and a crystal clear image formed in his mind. It was so incredibly perfect. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. He felt tears of joy filled his eyes and a light came to them as if he had been given a gift from heaven.

"You won't die right now," he whispered to his son with in an almost delicate way. "You're going to help me. I thank you."

Minutes later he left, leaving a battered boy lying on the ground. The child was barely breathing.


	14. Ch. 13: Emergency

To be honest I don't think this chapter is truly finished. I think I will probably go back and fix it up. Hope nobody is ticked off by that.

* * *

Trunks crept down the hall each breath shaking his body. His eyes darted left and right searching frantically for any sign of a threat. Every single moment seemed to be an hour reaching on and on. Time felt like it was taunting him, slowly moving along, any moment feeling like it could be his last, then shattering in his face.

As he came towards one door on his left, he let out a breath and leaned against the wall. This was the entrance to the main gravity room. If he remembered correctly there was a ventilation shaft connected to this chamber. He should be able to hide out in the vents like before until something happened, but what? It wasn't like his Tousan, no matter how strong he was compared to most people, was going to be able to suddenly going to save the day.

Gripping the doorknob, he turned, then pushed and to his surprise the door didn't budge. Huh? The knob had moved, so why wouldn't the door? He gritted his teeth and pushed again. Still nothing. He braced his legs firmly against the floor and with all his might, he pushed once more. Finally with once last heave, the door sprang open, launching him onto the floor.

The first thing Trunks was aware of after he hit the ground was the pressure. While the lower half of his legs, seemed perfectly fine, it felt like the rest of him was being slowly crushed. A thousand pounds on every inch of his body would have been more comfortable. Eyes goggled involuntarily, feeling like they were going to be sucked out of their sockets.

Desperately, he tried to take a breath, but the air just refused to come into his lungs. Nothing filled them and strength was viciously ripped from his body.

__

Air? Where is the air? Where?

Oh Kami, he was suffocating. No, it couldn't end like this. It couldn't be happening. He didn't want to die. Not like this. 

Suddenly, he felt someone pick him up by the back of his gi and toss into the hall. The pressure instantly released, though his body still screamed from the aftershock. What had happened? He was still alive, but how?

Reluctant arms and legs, all too happy to lie there were instead forced to work. He moved slightly and he managed to look up at his saviour.

"No…" On instinct, Trunks barely managed to bring his arms up to protect his face from the blows that were bound to come. He waited for minutes unend. Then with his heart thudding, he slowly made himself look around.

The hall was clear once more, but eyes inched towards the room and were met by another pair.

There was Goku, standing next to the gravity machine with his head titled slightly to the side a breathing mask attached to his face. The man seemed to examine him like a little kitten. A curiosity and amusement filling his gaze, perhaps a wondering if he was good to eat. He would probably wanting his revenge on him now, Trunks reflected grimly, but it didn't make sense. Why hadn't he attack by now?

Goku's eyes shined, making Trunks want to curl up right there and then. _What do I know that you don't? _it seemed to say and that unsettled the young Briefs more than anything. A single finger came up to where the grown saiyan's lips would have been without the mask, indicating for Trunks to be silent. Then the same finger snaked down and touched the gravity machine's controls, tapping them a few times.

Trunks watched, half terrified, half… curious?

Why hadn't he attacked? If Goku wanted he could have killed Trunks in a split second, either that or something else. It would be a lot more merciful just to kill him and get it over with instead of this game. Had Goku changed so much that he enjoying playing with people's lives? What had happened to the man he had once admired?

Keeping an eye on his enemy, Trunks carefully got to his feet, wincing as his body throbbed. He half limped away, but all the time Goku just stood there, watching him with that disturbing look never changing in the tiniest of ways. How come Goku looked so calm and confident? Goten was still out there and hopefully Krillin as well.

A sinking feeling built up in the pit of his stomach. He hobbled along faster and faster, heading back to the bathroom. He zipped down the curving halls as fast as he could in this state, not letting his aches and pains bother him. He turned at one last place and met with a horrible sight.

Standing outside the bathroom door was Krillin, Vegeta, and Gohan. His eyes fastened on Gohan and looked in horror at the terribly bruised figure cradled in the eldest demi-breed's arms. Black and blue spots speckled the figure's skin like chickenpox and his face looked incredibly pasty.

The prince spotted Trunks first. Though Vegeta showed emotion rarely, this time surprise spread across his features, followed by intense relief. 

Krillin turned and made a weak smile. "I thought he had gotten you," the he managed, then gave Gohan a light touch on the shoulder. "Hey Gohan, Trunks is here." Gohan glanced at Trunks, and his expression made the boy feel all the guiltier. There was no anger at him, not in the slightest; it was more of a dull acknowledgement.

"We've got to get Goten to the healing chamber," said Gohan flatly. "If we wait too long, I think he will die."

Those words hit Trunks like a sledgehammer; even the idea that his best friend might die because of him was shaking. It hadn't been so long ago that Goten had stood up to Goku when he had been in danger and he had been injured by that, but when Goten might die because he had run off to save his own skin…

He had thought that it would help both of them. Goku wasn't supposed to check under the sink. Trunks had been so sure that Goten would have been save under there, at least until some kind of help had come. Besides even if he had stayed, what good could he have done?

No, he had run away… again.

"What did he do to you, Goten?" he heard Gohan whisper and he bit his lip until a single stream of blood feel from his mouth, not letting himself wince. He had been too weak already. How could anyone do such a thing? Why did people do such things in the first place? Anything that would anything like that couldn't be human.

Trunks wasn't sure who he was talking about, Goku or himself.

"Come on, brat," Vegeta said to his son with an almost gentle hint to it. The little party headed off to the medical room at a easy pace. It seemed strange wandering down the hall at this speed in one big group. They merely walked. They had simply realised that if Goku suddenly appeared there would be nothing they could do except to hope he had a change of heart.

They came to the medical room without anything trouble. If anything this made an aura of tension, like the calm before the storm and none of them liked it in the least. It was like they were crossing a bridge made from grass and it wouldn't be long until it broke, letting them fall into whatever was beneath.

Gohan brought Goten over to the healing tank in the middle of the room, then the young man paused his eyes widening with horror as they fell onto the tank's control panel which as mess of wires and shattered plastic.


	15. Ch. 14: A Not Very Good Plan

"No…" Gohan said after a long silence, and turned away from the now-useless controls to where Trunks stood. "Bulma must have made a backup system somewhere in the ship, right?"

Trunks' light blue eyes widened slightly as if coming out of a dream… well, more like a nightmare. "I think… Kaasan made it so you could use any machine from any control panel in the ship. - We need to find controls that are intact and then we can heal Goten." He finished this eagerly.

Gohan relaxed slightly. Loosening his grip on his little brother at the same time. "Okay, let's find some controls," he said with determination. "The nearest shouldn't be too far. Let's just keep together and make sure _he_ doesn't sneak up on us." There was no need to explain who _he _was.

Once again the small group left a room, and quietly they headed down the corridors. Eyes flickering left and right, making sure no on would sneak up on them.

Vegeta muttered under his breath. They were prey and he was definitely not enjoying it.

There had been a time he might have been happy to be in this situation as long as he was the predator, not some low class, though not anymore. In a few years of living on Earth everything had changed. The universe as he had known it had been turned upside and inside out, making him see things in a way he had never imagined. Opening up a part of him that he had long since thought Frieza had killed.

Whether he liked it or not Earth had got to him and he knew he would never do anything like that. Thanks to that little blue and green planet he had been given a mate and children. It had left a mark on him that nobody could see, but he knew it was there. In his heart he knew he would never betray it or its people. Maybe threaten a few of the inhabitants every once in a while, but never betray. 

But if he wouldn't, why would Kakarot? The very man who claimed full of pride that he may have been born a saiyan, but he was an Earthling now. The very man who had defended the very ones he was attacking now with all his heart and soul.

It had taken Vegeta months to believe that the other saiyan was not trying to manipulate those around him with his acts of kindness and friendship. The prince had become so use to people lying and cheating around him that anyone who wanted 'peace', wanted everything else as well. Or so he had once thought.

It had taken Vegeta ages to realise that not everyone was like that and now one person he had believed was a prime example of that discovery had changed completely. Throwing all the beliefs that had taken Vegeta so long to understand out the window. (At this point Kakarot was running over them until it was as flat as a pancake.)

Then for more time, years, he had a terrible time learning to deal with constantly being the Earthling. It had made him sick. It had been burnt into him from a young age that the only way to live was to do whatever it takes and never, ever care about the consequences, and that was the only way you could survive. It scared him to realise that he there was a way around all that evil.

After all that anger, resentment and fear, he had come to respect his new allies, with Kakarot, the only saiyan to forsake all the evil pushed on their race, his closest... friend?

Could all of Kakarot's actions just been plain actions, without any true caring behind them? All just for the sake of his own power?

A control panel built into the wall ahead was seized by four sets of eyes including his own and Vegeta suppressed another growl when he saw the plastic covering melted, rendering it useless as well. Exchanging a glance with Gohan, he moved ahead going into the first room on the right. Inside was food storage and another broken set of controls.

"The baka," he muttered as he returned once more, "he knew we would need them. - There's at least one less set of controls there."

Gohan's face darkened visibly and Krillin blinked a few times, stunned. 

"What was he thinking?" the human said after recovering himself. "He would be an idiot do destroy all the controls. If something happened the ship, he'd die without any chance of saving himself. It would be suicide."

"Yes, it would be suicide. Everything he's been doing has a point, I doubt he's insane enough to destroy all the controls. That means there has to be at least one set somewhere on the ship, probably where he can keep an eye on it."

Trunks looked up at his father, his mouth working soundlessly.

"Trunks?" asked Krillin, noticing the reaction.

"The controls, I know where they are." The boy paused as everyone in the hall faced him. "I saw them in main gravity room."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Krillin said. "Every second counts, right?"

"Wait a moment!" Trunks cried frantically, and backed into the wall. His small hands became little hard balls, clenching his now-sweat soaked gi. "You can't go there. It's too dangerous. I was there… The gravity really heavy. I couldn't even begin to move."

"We've handled intense gravity before," said Vegeta.

"Not like this, Tousan! You won't be able to breathe! That's how bad it is!" The boy spoke more to his father than to anyone else and with Vegeta's awkward surprise, Trunks rushed forward and grabbed him around the middle. The small body trembled against his father's.

Gohan looked at Trunks with a sympathetic look then faced Vegeta. 

"Remember the tether that tied us up?" he said. "It is part of a spacesuit. If we find the suit we could use its helmet to give whoever uses it oxygen. The gravity will push the air to the bottom of the helmet, but it _should _be enough it to let the user breathe, not very well, but enough."

"Yes, and the user will be _me_," stated Vegeta, trying to not let his eldest's actions affect him, even when Trunks tightened the vice grip around his waist. He was not use to anyone treating him this way and 

"What about my brother? He's going to die. - I am as strong as you. I have a right to go!" argued Gohan, a tint of familiar green-blue touched his eyes and his hair flashed golden, before quickly turning back to normal.

"I've got more fighting experience, and my son and daughter are at stake."

"True…." The Son seemed to consider this reluctantly, and swallowed down his annoyance. He took a rather forced thoughtful look. His dark eyebrows joining sharply in the middle and forehead wrinkling up his forehead like a wave.

"Neither of you are strong enough," Trunks said desperately. "Please Tousan, please Gohan, listen to reason! I saw _him_ there. He was staring at me! He let me go! He knows that you are coming! - He wants you to come!"

"It has to be tried for Goten's sake. For the sake of us all. - We'll have the best chance if Vegeta goes!" stated Krillin. He didn't seem to like saying it though.

Trunks' head swivelled towards Krillin, and he glared ice. In a split second he turned full blown Super Saiyan, the new power making every word bellowed at the top of his lungs. "You just want him to save yourself! You rather he goes, risking his life, while you stay here, safe! You're a coward Krillin! A COWARD!"

The human in turn glared back. "Do you think I like being useless? Do you think I don't wish that I could go and fight and actually being some help? This isn't my choice, but if Vegeta goes, he can do more good that I can."

"Don't you get it? - He's not strong enough," yelled Trunks and tears seeped down his cheeks in bright shimmering groups.

Vegeta grimaced mentally. It was true; none of them was strong enough.

This reminded him too much of when own father had left him as a child. Father had gone to fight Frieza, a battle where he must have known he was going to lose, but he gone anyways and died quickly, all for the sake of his son. For many years Vegeta had hated everyone for it. Now his son was going through the same thing.

There had to be a way out of this with at least to keep some of them alive. The only way that was going to happen as far as he could tell was with Kakarot either winning, or suddenly changing his mind and going back to the nice little saiyan he had been before.

The argument between the two continued. It was like a leech; taking valuable energy out of their little group and only giving discord back.

"Stop it," said Gohan quietly. 

Neither listened. 

"STOP IT!"

A pair of shocked faces suddenly locked on the demi-saiyan. A man whose fury radiated in every direction like the sun, but more powerful and fierier. His entire body was like stone, and his eyes made stone look soft, yet he calmly surveyed his friends. 

"I know nobody likes what is happening now. I certainly don't," Gohan started, "but do you honestly think this is helping? Goten is dying and you're both wasting time." This caused ashamed expressions. "Krillin, Trunks, I want you to take Goten and hide. I don't care where, but hide. - _I mean it, Trunks_. - And Vegeta, you come with me."

Vegeta nodded, and managed to pry a resistant Trunks off his waist. "You better do as he says," he ordered his son firmly, then followed Gohan out into the halls.

The walking was silent and they entered the residential area. It seemed eerily tranquil, and quietly Gohan rummaged the cupboards and closets until he found the spacesuit's helmet, a plain white helmet complete with a oxygen supply on the back.

"What's the plan, brat?" Vegeta asked.

"Remember fusion?" said Gohan. "All we have do is fuse, then we go to the main gravity room. We put this on and we'll be able to breathe and hopefully fight."

The prince raised an eyebrow. "So you're suggesting that we use a completely untested fusion to fight Kakarot in gravity that neither of us is use to, with a less than adequate air supply?"

"Yes."

"It's not a very good plan."

Gohan smirked slightly.

"No, it isn't."


	16. Ch. 15: Cliff Hanger

You may be interested to know that I finally have figured out how many chapters are left. There is going to be two (including this one) as well as an epilogue.

On another note, I've heard about the fusion dance and Super Saiyan Three, but I haven't seen any episodes with them, so I hope I don't mess up anything. In the main part I was very very very very very very very very (times a thousand) nervous when it came to writing this chapter. I had plenty of inspiration, but I was scared it wouldn't live up to expectations that I had for it as well as the ones you guys have. 

* * *

For such a moment, there couldn't have been a more odd place. Here they were standing among a quaint living room set, complete with couch, T.V. and comfy chair. There even was a few bookshelves for a little library, and all the while battle was on the horizon. A fight that neither of the room's occupants were looking forward to.

__

Does he have to look at me like that? wondered Gohan, eyeing Vegeta. "So are we going to do this?" he asked impatiently.

Most people when looking at the Vegeta would have thought that he was perfectly calm, Vegeta was a master of hiding everything but the most intense of emotions, when they wanted, and even then, very few of those got out, yet Gohan had been around the prince too long. He was hiding something.

"Well?"

Vegeta's firm gaze gripped onto the younger saiyan. "I don't think you know what you're getting us into."

Gohan frowned. "Of course I know what I am getting into. I am trying to save the lives of my family and friends as well as yours too. There's nothing more to it than that."

"You've never fused before. It is not as simple as have two minds in one body and having the strength of both people. All our wants and desires won't simply be mixed, some traits will come out dominant, while others will be buried completely. If you have any doubts about what you want to happen, then it could seriously harm what we do in our fusion," said Vegeta.

Uneasiness filled Gohan. "You don't think I plan to betray you all? That is not going to happen. I don't know what made him turn into a monster, but I will never do that, especially with what he did to my brother." He couldn't truly blame the prince. Tousan had supposedly been a good trustworthy man, and suddenly turned on them. If Vegeta thought that he might do the same….

Vegeta snorted. "I am a fighter not an lawyer. I can't afford to go around always assuming that everyone will betray me at once. That's not it in the least."

"Then what?"

"I've known you for quite a while, brat. I was there at most of the fights that you were involved in, and every single time you blathered on about your father was going to win, or that your father was coming. You've relied on him and trusted him too many times for a couple hours to make you see him as the enemy."

He had point. Gohan disliked it but it was all too true. Could he fight against the very person he had laughed with and been raised by? It wasn't as simple as black and white. True he wanted to stop Goku, but part of him was fervently hoping that that someone like Ginyu was on the ship, so he could say that the man doing this wasn't his father. A person that he loved.

No, he couldn't so much as care for something that had done this. The people he loved were good people, honest people. His incredibly blunt mother, his spunky wife, his little daughter with those beautiful wide eyes that he delighted in, and his little brother whose life was hanging in the balance.

Gohan remembered the horror of seeing Goten lying there, completely limp like a broken doll, clinging to life by a sing thread. Anything like that could do such a thing didn't deserve to live.

"I _will _do what I have to," he said, meeting Vegeta's eyes and there was an unspoken agreement that passed through them. Warrior to warrior.

They shifted into their first stances and the dance began. Carefully in a delicate, beautiful manner, like two birds in flight. It was strange to watch these two powerful men, moving gracefully from pose to pose, lightly pushing their feet through each individual step. Every single second in perfect synchronisation. Suddenly they whirled around and their fingertips touched.

"FUSION-HA!" 

Ki flashed, swirling around where the figures stood. Like a hurricane, bright colours, purples, reds, greens, oranges, yellows, and blues all swept around Gohan and Vegeta, quickly blotting them out from the world. As power rose, paper, clothes, and furniture was blown from their positions bashing into the wall, as if trying to run away.

The wind subsided and the ki went with it, leaving only one man in its wake. His muscles were not so much huge, but incredibly well defined. His thick hair stood up from his head, forming a small ebony flame with random spikes sticking out from its main body. His height was slightly smaller than Gohan's, while his face shape was slightly softer than Vegeta's, but there was nothing soft about those dark eyes. They blazed forth the anger of a hundred men.

A hand moved close to the man's face and he examined it with wonder, taking in the sight of the rough callused palms and flipping the hand to see the back, noting the scar that he had got a few years back when training with his son…. 

Or was it Vegeta's son? It didn't really seem to matter. Trunks was his son and wasn't. Pan was his daughter, but at the same time it Bra instead. Goten was his brother and was not as well.

You would have thought it would be confusing, Gohan had thought it was going to be like that, but now it was so very natural. He was Gohan and Vegeta, yet in some way, he was something more. It was as if it had always been this way, like there had never been anything else. The main amazement he felt wasn't because the strangeness of being two beings in one, but because he didn't feel strange in the least bit.

__

Who am I? he wondered and the answer came swiftly without a second of delay. _I am… Gogeta._ The name that the fusion of Vegeta and Goku had once been called. It seemed like the original Gogeta was getting revenge for one of his creator's betrayal.

Forcing the hand to his side, he focused on the combined power inside him. He wanted to marvel, but one thing he knew was now he had twice the responsibility. Yellow aura flashed around him, filling the chamber to its brim and black eyes turned to icy blue. Power pulsed through the room like a like the heat of a gigantic fire, and a wave of golden hair fell down his back. It settled there, lazily caressing the back of his legs.

He would have liked this to end some other way but there was no other choice. He didn't know which part of him was making this regret, Vegeta, Gohan or both, but every ounce knew this: Goku had to pay.

* * *

Kakarot chuckled as he felt the huge power approach. It was finally happening. His dream was finally coming true. After so many years of watching his life being played out by another. After all that time of waiting and waiting and waiting. He was finally allowed to be truly alive, to make actions, experience things. Before he had only looked and now he could do things. 

A part of him wanted as soon as he got to Earth to go to an ice cream parlour and buy an ice cream cone. So simple, yet he longed for it. It wasn't that he didn't know what ice cream tasted like. It was that he wanted to be the one moving his tongue over its smooth cool surface. His entire life had never been his.

The universe would know him for who he truly was. The being that was Goku would a dim memory beside him.

A tear fell down his cheek and over the breathing masks attached to his mouth and nose. Normally it wouldn't have moved so fast, but the gravity definitely effected the little drop of water.

It had been a long time since he had effected anything. A very long time.

The gravity room's door knob turned and the door swung open, in a undramatic fashion, but you didn't need drama with the fury radiating off the figure standing there.

__

Hello Gogeta, Kakarot thought calmly, though he felt a little joy build inside him as he looked the man over. Gogeta looked very agile, powerful, even without feeling his ki, and he wore some helmet over his head, which seemed to allow him to breath. Where had he got that anyway? Oddly enough he felt a pang of pride at seeing that he was a Super Saiyan at level three. Gohan was stronger than he had thought to make the transformation possible.

Maybe he would have some fun after all. Fighting had always been fun. The rush of battle, the feeling of yourself being strained to your limits. It wouldn't have been interesting if either Gohan or Vegeta on their own, but now him would be able to enjoy this and he would also get to disable two of his opponents at once without needing to chase after the other.

__

You know why I am doing this? he wanted to shout at the saiyan before him. _Do you know why I deserve this?_

He wasn't a fool, even without the mask there was no way the other could have heard him, not with the air jammed to the floor. Even as Kakarot powered up to level three himself, no sound reached the other man. A little disappointment on his part. It was silly but he wished that Gogeta could understand what this meant to him. It didn't make sense why he denied the logic of it all. With the power that he had, he was suppose to rule, to be in charge of the future, and he out right refused it.

Without warning, Gogeta charged forward, his right fist rushing towards his face. Kakarot leaned back, dodging the punch, in the same movement letting a leg come up and go deep into Gogeta's gut. The warrior started to fall, but managed to recover enough to jump back and shift into position for a brief second. Once again he was off, this time disappearing, and reappearing close to Kakarot, aiming for his groin. Kakarot frowned and blocked.

So this was how he was going to play. No holds barred. No honour. Everything to win. Everything to save his loved ones. So he was running on pure desperation and adrenaline too. He really should have known better. That sort of thing clouded judgement and made you tire quickly.

Kakarot attacked, driving Gogeta back with punches and kicks moving at lightning speed, too fast for anyone to grab onto with ease. Gogeta attempted to stop the blows, and succeeded to do so with most of them. Even then valuable energy was sapped as with every single one. It was a dance itself, though very different from the fusion dance. With this grace, and exact steps, what else could it be called?

Gogeta tried to land a punch and succeeded, but at the same time twelve more hit back right under the ribs. Gogeta ducked, as one came at his jaw, and managed to send a foot rushing into Kakarot's shin, driving him back for a moment. He used the advantage to get behind him and bash him in the neck.

Kakarot let himself go down with the hit, and landing on his hands and knees, used his feet to grab Gogeta's, and knocked the other man to the floor. He jumped up, then came down hard onto Gogeta's stomach with his elbow.

__

You know how beautiful this is? I know it hurts and so many hate pain, but that is what makes it so great and so wondrous. It is more real than you can imagine. You take it for granted, don't you?

Getting up, he offered his opponent his hand. Instead of taking it Gogeta sent a bright purple blast into his face, momentarily blinding Kakarot, and used the distraction to attempt to bash him in the head, but Kakarot was too fast and he launched a tiny ki ball straight for Gogeta. 

It zipped right for Gogeta, slicing neatly into his shoulder and the warrior instinctively clutched the hole where the ball had gone straight through, barely dodging as the little ball came right back at him. It stopped and went backwards slicing his shoulder once more. Gogeta went after it this time; nimbly moving out the way every time it made a pass at him, yet he wasn't always fast enough. Finally he threw his own ball of ki, disintegrating it.

Despite the small victory, his clothes sported many blood-drenched marks, and the delightful salty smell filled the air. The shoulder wound was the worst, and frequently drops of dark red liquid plopped onto the ground.

Kakarot smiled absentmindedly as Gogeta ran at him with all his speed, and he dashed at the fused fighter. Before another breath was taken, they entrenched in combat. Arms and legs were became blurs, and gold aura blazed so brightly that there wasn't a shadow in the room. So bright it that every move depended purely on sense and intuition.

Yes, this was what a battle was suppose to be, Kakarot decided as he kneed Gogeta in the ribs. Two warriors ready to do anything to win. This was how people like him earned honour. This how they got what the deserved. He was meant for power and he knew it to the bottom of his soul. After everything he would get his reward.

Gogeta jumped up, and began a familiar chant. A chant that Kakarot had long since learned to despise. "Kaaaaa…..meeeeeee….haaa…" Yet he allowed his smile to become smirk. Little Gogeta had made his first and most likely last major mistake, and he was going to suffer for it. 

If this were Earth the action wouldn't have been a bad move, yet in this gravity…

As the Kamehameha wave approached, he dodged it, grabbed Gogeta by the legs and twisted him down into his own attack using the intense gravity to aid him in plucking the saiyan out of his perch. In the same action, he added his own power.

Gogeta tried to break free, but the ki hit him hard, stunning him. Kakarot wasted no time and immediately started pummelling the down man. He must have hit him a hundred times before he stopped with Gogeta barely clinging to consciousness, but strangely still struggling to get up.

__

Why are you doing this? Kakarot wondered, looking down at the fallen warrior. _Don't you understand? Why doesn't anyone understand? Why don't you realise why I am doing this? It wasn't fair until now. That's why I am here now. I was given a chance to make things fair for me._

Not thinking Kakarot dug his fingers viciously into Gogeta's shoulder wound, making him silently cry out in pain. _Don't you get it? DON'T YOU? ANSWER ME! _He pushed his fingers in deeper into the tender flesh, and Gogeta only glared at him stubbornly.

Why wouldn't he answer? How come he didn't understand? Kakarot found himself sobbing, gasping air from his breathing mask

He needed Gogeta alive, he told himself, and managed to push the onslaught of anger and confusion aside. He would wait until Gogeta unfused, then he could tie Vegeta and Gohan up again, this time he would keep them with him to keep an eye on them. This time everything would be all right. Everything would go perfectly. It had to be.

He would first check the hall, he decided, and started walking. A moment later he realised he was going the other way. He started to look at the door, but instead his gaze shifted to Gogeta. What was going on here?….

Goku!

Kakarot frantically faced the door only to see two auras flying towards him, one white, one gold.

In milliseconds he was knocked to the ground, and saw the image of Gogeta weakly lifting his arm to form a blue ki blast.

The battle was done.

* * *

There was no time to think as Gogeta spotted Krillin and Trunks lying on the floor next to Goku. Using the last of his strength he crawled over to the gravity machine and punched in the number 1, then ENTER. The gravity eased up instantly, allowing him to stand, with a great deal of pain, but stand none the less.

Trunks managed to get up a little afterward, going over to his still knocked out human companion. The boy examined his friend and looked up at Gogeta and said "He's okay, but he'll have to use the healing chamber after Goten."

Gogeta nodded, then glared at the brat. "I thought I told you to stay away from the fight," he half-growled.

"You did, sort of," admitted Trunks, "but when you went, me and Krillin decided that if we were all going to die, we might as well do it together. - We put Goten in the healing chamber, so now all you have to do is turn it on and he'll start getting better."

The brat had a point and if they hadn't come, they would have all died. It would have been a true victory if only…

Gogeta turned to look at the unconscious Goku lying on the floor, injured almost as badly as Goten was. He uncomfortably noticed the rise and fall of the traitor's chest. 

"He's still alive."

* * *

"Gohan?"

Goku stood surrounded by darkness. He looked left and right, up and down, but all he saw was darkness. It seemed to pulse around threatening to swallow him up.

"Vegeta?"

What had happened? The last thing he remembered was using all his will power to try and stop Kakarot and now he was here, but where was here?

"Anybody?"

"They can't hear us here, Goku, nobody can."


	17. Ch. 16: The Void

"They can't hear us, Goku. Nobody can."

The voice was quiet but in the darkness it seemed profound. In that void world it was the only sound other than Goku's own voice and as he whipped around, expecting to see the speaker instantly, instead he was met by yet more darkness. 

Goku gazed out at it, attempting to find something different or new in its landscape, a light, a person, anything. Instead more darkness greeted him and trailed off into infinite.

On an urge Goku found himself staring down at his body, and he saw the familiar orange gi encasing him, each and every limb intact. Despite the mild reassurance and comfort this gave him, he found his gaze slipping off the clothes to the ground beneath him, or to be more exact the _lack _of ground beneath him.

Up. Down. Left. Right. Behind. In front. Again and again, he saw the darkness and he had an eerie feeling, which sent a chill down the back off his neck. It felt like the darkness saw him too.

His stomach lurched and his gut felt like it was twisting into knots. The disorientation spread through every crack and crevice. This wasn't like flying. He was standing on absolutely nothing. He wasn't in control in the slightest. It was more like... something.

It was a disturbing place, this empty universe.

Steeling himself, Goku let his memories flow through him. He recalled when he had first came to after hitting his head, he had been merely walking down the hall, and then the sudden strike of fear and helpless as he saw his body moving against his will, and later being forced to watch the confusion and pain of his family and friends when they thought he was betraying them. Every moment of that had been the ultimate nightmare and now this. 

Was this going to be even worse or better?

Whatever happened, at least he knew the name of the _thing_ that had done this to him: Kakarot. It had taken him a while to figure out, but he had and maybe, somehow, he could stop the monster.

There was no need to think who the voice was. That knowledge was easy enough to grasp and Goku felt something build inside himself that he had never experienced before. He had been angry before, it was not a foreign feeling, but never in all those times had he been so utterly helpless. The new sensation, hate, burned inside and yet at the same time it was cold and hard.

__

The voice, he thought. _That has to be him._

"Kakarot, I know you're here. Come out!" Goku shouted and after a moment the darkness shivered.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" whispered the voice, the same one as before. It wavered over word each with its own hate all too evident. "Whatever happens you come along to torment me. It's not enough that you ruin my life but now you have to make this place even worse." It seemed to sneer. "And I thought nothing could make this place worse."

Goku inwardly glowered. "Tell me how to go and I'll happily leave."

"I don't know how to.... Sometimes, when I wanted to give up, I came here, but I don't want be here. It scares me." The confusion quickly turned to disgust. "This is your fault! It's always your fault!"

Goku stepped forward as if advancing on his invisible enemy.

"What have I done to you? You think I'm evil. You think I've done something wrong. So tell me what have I done?" he demanded. Goku's hands shook at his sides with barely suppressed rage. After all that seen, this creature still taunted him as if this was his fault.

"You don't get it yet, Goku? Of course you were never the bright one. I suppose that went to me." A bitter laugh rang through the void, making the hairs on the back of Goku's neck rise.

"I never said I was smart, but I work for what I want. I don't steal people's lives. - No more games, Kakarot. After playing them with everyone else you're not going to play them with me."

"There's been no games in my life. I've never had the chance to play. Perhaps I've enjoyed the moment a time or two, but where never really, never truly," said the voice without a trace of amusement. 

"Then answer my question."

There was a long pause and then Goku got his answer. "You took it."

"What?"

"My life. My heritage. My future. My potential. You took it all that and more. Some of it you did beautifully with and other parts you ruined, but either was it is and was mine. Mine. MINE!" 

The darkness pulsated stronger than before, but Goku stood unscathed. Normally such words would have touched him, but a memory flared up.

* * *

__

Goku watched helplessly as the beast controlling him tightened the bone-crushing grip on Trunks' hand.

Please, no! Don't do this! _he begged silently. No matter how he fought his own body's actions, the grip kept on tightening and he watched as the lavender-haired youth cried out in pain_

"Tousan!!!!?" Goten shouted. "You're hurting him, Tousan! You're hurting Trunks!"

Then the fateful moment came and as Goten prepared to attack, Goku felt his body move against his will and his gut he knew what was going to happen. Frantically, he tried to restrain himself, tried to stop the horror that was starting to begin.

No, no, no...

__

His arm raised itself then came down sharply and his son collapsed.

Goten! **GOTEN!**

* * *

"What sort of sick thing hurts a child?" Goku growled. 

True, he had seen people hurt his children before. This time had been different; he had been forced to feel his own body doing. and Respite all excuses, it cut at him like none of those other times could have. He wanted to throw up.

__

It's not my fault, he told himself. _It's his. I did what I could._

Another hair-raising laugh echoed in the void and Goku tightened his fists until they ached. No games? Kakarot seemed to thrive on them like a leech.

"You want to know, Goku? You really want to know what I am? I'll show you if you really want. After all we've shared maybe you deserve to see the monster that I am."

"Then stop with the talk and show me!"

"Okay then," whispered the voice and this time Goku noticed a tremble of something that resembled fear... of what Goku could do to him? Or something else? 

He pushed the thoughts aside. They were useless now.

The darkness convulsed and then a figure's outline could be made out. Slowly it seemed to fill in as light and dark and pale colours made the form clearer, more distinct. Goku could already see the man's merciless eyes and mocking smile and hands that would do so much evil with hesitation in his mind.

And when he looked for them, he instead saw a boy. A mere child, naked except for a brown tail wrapped around his waist and dark hair spiking off his head. 

His hands were frail and boney, hanging loosely at his sides. No smile touched his pale lips, and he had eyes that reflected both insanity and innocence. They were locked on Goku.

"Am I what you want? Something disgusting and evil? A monster you can point at and say, "He's the bad guy!" and get away with it? - Of course you do. I know you well enough to know that. Hell, you gave Frieza a billion chances and Vegeta too, but not Cell and not me," Kakarot spat.

Goku found himself staring at the boy; he must have been five at the oldest. "How.... How old.."

"How old was I when you stole my life?" said the child. "I was four of your years. I could speak fairly well in my native tongue and knew the basics of saiyan culture and like our gods, the Festival of the Oozaru, and, of course, the Right of Blood. I actually was considered very bright for my age, on my way to a great future and then you took it.

"When I hit my head and later found _you _controlling my body, I told myself it was a nightmare, but for what seemed like years I cried and cried and prayed to the gods to help me. They never did, until today when they gave me this gift, which you once again spoiled." Anger radiated off the boy.

__

He's just pretending to be a child. In this strange place that must be possible, Goku told himself. _He is trying to get my guard and then he is going to attack. _Despite these words, he knew them to be a false, a desperate hope to ignore the truth. Goku had learned to see when people tried to do that. He would not do the same.

"I'm sorry."

"There is no sorry. You should be the only one suffering. Not me! NOT ME!" screamed Kakarot. "It's not fair! It's not fair! **It's not fair!** **IT'S NOT FAIR!**" At that moment, the boy curled up into a little ball and started crying. Sobs racked his thin body.

A dull realisation spread through Goku: _He's still a child. _For all the things he had seen and words he had learned, Kakarot had never fully grow up. He still had much of a young child's selfish and lack of empathy. He had never a chance to do anything else. _I'm sorry, Kakarot._

"I wish there was something I could do."

"I want my life back." 

"I can't do that," Goku said. "There are people who need me. My friends deserve an explanation. Goten and Gohan deserve a father, something neither of us had." Everything said was true and without exaggeration. Still, Goku felt like a tyrant.

"I could give the explanation! I could be the father!" shouted Kakarot but there was no force behind the statement.

"You know that won't work," Goku replied calmly.

The boy nodded this time and buried his face in his knees. 

"Then I want it to be over. No more watching or hiding in the dark. Free."

Goku sighed and stepped towards the child and put his hand on the other's shoulder. 

"I'm so sorry, Kakarot. I wish I give you your life back."

A ripple pierced the darkness. Goku closed his eyes for a second and opening them, he saw a clean, white room with Gohan, Krillin, Trunks, Vegeta and Goten. He closed his eyes again and when opening them he was back in the void with Kakarot.

He stared at the boy and saw the youth's image was fading.

"What's happening?"

Kakarot grinned at him with a tired sort of happiness. His pale skin had a little more colour. "Can't you tell. It's going to be over for me and then you'll go home."

Goku could say nothing.

"Goodbye Goku. I still hate you. You still took my life, but at least you did an okay job with it."

"Goodbye Kakarot."

"Goku, answer me one thing and please be honest." Longing and hope filled the boy's tone.

"Yes."

"Am I evil?"

It was a simple question. Many would have answered yes without a thought, others would not be sure. Goku felt unsure and it bothered him.

"I don't know, Kakarot."

The image of the boy was translucent now, many parts gone entirely, but his dark eyes were as alive as ever. The insanity in them disappeared as Goku replied and it seemed as if it had never been there.

"Thank you," said the boy, accepting it without complaint.

Then he was gone and so was Goku.

* * *

Goten leaned against the wall away from the others, his gaze glued onto his father whom was lying on the floor was tied tightly with so many makeshift ropes he looked like he had been placed in a cocoon.

It had been three hours since he had been healed in the rejuvenation tanks and informed of everything that had happened and he still could not believe it, would not believe it. Gohan had tried to convince him, so had Vegeta and Krillin after he had come out of the tank. Each time Goten had held fast.

True he had memories of what had happened, but no matter what he remembered and what everyone said, his father would not do that. To the bottom of his soul he knew this and no one was going to convince him otherwise.

Suddenly Goku open his eyes and standing straight, Goten watched carefully and he sensed the others had noticed too. They got into position, getting prepared to fight if need be.

As Goten looked at Goku, he watched as his father opened his eyes once more and managed to get into a sitting position.

Using his senses, he stretched out mentally and touched Goku's ki. _It feels right again,_ he thought remembering the strange feeling he had got before he had been attacked.

He gazed at his father and saw him looking back. "Tousan, is that you, the real you?" he asked, his throat choking up.

Goku smiled slowly and nodded. "It's me."

Goten threw himself at his otousan, grabbing him around his neck, while tears burst forth unhindered.

At that moment everything was right in the universe.


	18. Epilogue: Stars

The sky was a golden sheen that turned the colour of fresh oranges where the sun dipped behind the mountains. In the foreground the shadows beneath their tree foliage darkened while the last rays of light dappled their trees' tops. It was the picture of beauty but with a simplicity that only nature could supply.

It had been four months since the trip in space and the chaos. After Goku had been restored it had taken days upon days for his friends and son Gohan to believe the truth behind what had happened. Goten on the other hand had needed no convincing he had accepted the explanation instantly, feeling completely joyful to have his father back.

Goku lay in a meadow with his back against the ground and his eyes looking up. Minutes past and slowly the sky shifted from the streaks of red, orange and yellow into black. A black that seemed unceasing like the void, dark despair filled, empty... 

But there was a difference, because from this darkness as unending as it seemed came one difference that made it completely different. It was a small star. It's light piercing the void surely and deeply.

__

Star light, star bright,

First 1st star I see tonight,

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have the wish I wish tonight.

"Wherever you are, Kakarot, I hope you got what you wanted."

The star shone strongly and as more time past, a second star joined it, glowing as strongly as the first. A third one came and more after it. Together they made a magnificent tapestry of lights over the night sky, lighting up the Earth with their brilliance. 

__

Star light, star bright,

Shine with your light,

Every day, Every night

No longer need you fight.

****

THE END


	19. Afterword

This particular fanfic came along with the contemplation of 'What would happen if Goku got his memory back?' Who would have thought that little question would turn into this? Frankly, I can hardly believe it.

When I got about halfway through KR, I realised that I didn't have a clue how I was going to end it. (My brilliant planning of course.) Thus, I found myself rather stuck. I knew I wanted him to have a final battle with Gogeta (I always wanted to see a fusion of Gohan and Vegeta), but what then? I eventually came up with a few rough ideas:

Kakarot hits his head again and becomes Goku again. (rather anti-climatic) Kakarot dies. (didn't hit me right) Kakarot his head and faces off against Goku in his mind. (Hmm…) 

The third one was the ending I first intended. It changed as I examined Kakarot more and more. As I looked at him, I got a sense of déjà vu and I eventually found myself thinking about my three little brothers when they were very young. I remembered that young age children can be very selfish and unforgiving and that was what I saw in Kakarot and then I realised he probably was still a child when he hit his head. Despite having an adult's body, he was still mentally a child, innocent in an odd way.

From there on, I made some intense effort to portray that without making it obvious.

Originally KR was suppose to be a two part story, one which would take place on the space ship and another on Earth, but as the story evolved my gut told me to throw away that idea and keep it with only one. So, I am sorry to say unless I get some inspiration that I can't resist, there will be no sequel. If I ever write anything further on it, there might be prequel taking place when Kakarot was first trapped in his own mind.

It has been about a year since I originally started Kakarot's Revenge and now it is finished. Well… maybe not completely. I will no doubt go back and modify some sections to improve them. Most importantly there is going to be a title change fairly soon. Kakarot's Revenge was never intended to be the permanent name and reminds me too much of an old, incredibly tacky horror movie. Soon this fic will be known as 'Second Soul'.

I can never thank you guys enough for the support I got while writing this fic. Each e-mail and review whether with encouragement or constructive criticism was a help, though there is the exception when someone e-mailed me after I wrote the first chapter and prologue saying 'youir fic is so f***ing stupi', but considering that he/she spelt 'your' and 'stupid' wrong, I got a laugh. I'd like to thank every last one of you personally, but some how I don't think I could afford that much air fare.

Thank you everyone and I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer.

Your friendly neighbourhood Canadian,

-Laura


End file.
